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PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 
IN SECONDARY EDUCATION 



BY 

HERBERT H. FOSTER, Ph.D. 

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT 



CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON 



IMPERFECT COPYj 



Copyright, 1921, by 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



\\-1l 



FEB -7 i':2; 




5CU605692 



TO 

MY MOTHER 



PREFACE 

"The bane of high school science teaching is the notion 
that it must be taught differently from other subjects." These 
words, spoken to the author by a widely known science 
teacher, are in harmony with the statements of many promi- 
nent and successful teachers in other branches of high school 
study. Some years ago, having occasion to make a compara- 
tive study of all the available books on the teaching of sec- 
ondary school subjects, the author was impressed by the 
striking parallel between the best of the books whenever 
method of instruction was treated. The chief differences 
were matters of omission, and the omissions in books in the 
same field were far from being the same. The only possible 
inference was that certain general principles of method are 
valid in all of the studies of the high school curriculum, and 
that the task of each teacher is not to construct his educa- 
tional method regardless of these principles, but to adapt their 
application to his particular field. 

The present text is an attempt to assist the prospective 
or untrained teacher in a study of the principles upon which 
method in secondary instruction must be based. The book 
is a protest against formalism and mechanism, on the one 
hand, and unsystematic procedure on the other. The point 
of view is functional, in that in each step there is a procedure 
from discovery of aim to adaptation of process to aim. The 
author is also governed by the conviction that a w^ell-planned 
lesson is more than a mere series of topics for study, but as 
a whole possesses an organic unity. While at least the greater 
part of the content of the book is applicable to all stages of 



VI PREFACE 

instruction, it is intended especially for the work of the sec- 
ondary school, including the junior high school. 

The book is designed to assist in the training of teachers. 
Hence it must constantly be supplemented with intelligent, 
sympathetic observation of actual secondary school instruc- 
tion. The reader should throughout strive to trace the ap- 
plication of the principles to the held in which he hopes to 
teach. To the experienced teacher this practical applica- 
tion and significance will be more immediately apparent. In 
any case, this study of the principles of method in terms of 
the schoolroom and of one's special subject will be the sine 
qua 710)1 for the gaining of much practical benefit from the 
text. 

. The author takes the liberty to suggest f o instructors and 
students that a careful reading of the analysis of each chap- 
ter or section, as given in the table of contents, precede the 
study of the text. By this method one will doubtless gain a 
better preliminary conception of the problems raised and of 
their treatment. To the reader who is unfamiUar with the 
principles of education and of educational psychology, it is 
suggested that the supplementary readings be read before the 
chapters of the text to which they are appended. It is the 
aim of the author to mention only a few representative read- 
ings rather than to give an extended bibliography. 

A considerable part of the material of the text, and es- 
pecially the attempt at organization of principles for the 
teacher's use, is the product of the author's experience and 
observation. Ten years of work in secondary education, in 
administration and teaching, and in the supervision of prac- 
tice teaching has been the laboratory in which the practical 
test of these principles has been made. The principles are 
not new, but are being applied to-day, though often uncon- 
sciously, by the more progressive and successful teachers of our 
secondary schools. 

The book, excepting the last four chapters, was written 
several years ago, and has in manuscript form been used as 



PREFACE VU 

a text-book in several institutions. A number of changes have 
resulted. In the meantime have appeared the excellent texts 
by Professor Parker and Professor Colvin, but the author 
feels that the difference in view point of the present text 
justifies offering it to the educational public. 

Acknowledgment must be made of obligation to a number 
of educational writers, notably Professors Thorndike, Dewey, 
and De Garmo. To a number of friends who have read the 
manuscript, the author is indebted for helpful suggestions. 
Students who have used the book as a text have been of great 
assistance in rendering it usable as a classroom text. Pro- 
fessor Alexander IngKs, of Harvard University, has contrib- 
uted a wealth of extremely helpful criticism and suggestion. 
Finally, the author renders grateful acknowledgment to his 
wife, whose professional training and experience as well as 
personal encouragement and assistance have done much to 
give the book any merit it may possess. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

PAGE 

1. Meaning of Method i 

Method is the way of doing anything, including teaching. The "born" teacher and 
the trained teacher. 

2. Basis of Method in Secondary Instruction ... 5 

The validity of the principles of educational psychology constitutes the basis for the 
validity of the principles of teaching. The psychology of adolescence is the basis 
for secondary method. General vs. special method. The native interests of the 
student and their fimctioning in learning. 

3. Summary 9 



CHAPTER II 

SOME fundamental PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 

1. The Child's Equipment 10 

Teaching must treat the child as a bundle of native and acquired tendencies to action. 

2. Interest and Teaching 11 

The teacher must induce interest in the subject matter, even though the interest be 
indirect. He must direct the student's interest into the most fruitful paths. 

3. Attention and Teaching 14 

Attention is an essential in learning. Passive attention is the most favorable for learn- 
ing, but is not always attainable. Active attention should lead to secondary passive 
attention. 

4. Associative Learning 17 

Rules for securing simple associations. Association after dissociation involves analysis 
followed by synthesis. Rules for securing association after dissociation. 



X CONTENTS 

PAGE 

5. The Transfer of Acquired Efficiency .... 21 

The doctrine of the transfer of acquired power is a prominent factor in curriculum 
and instruction. What truth it possesses lies in the identity of the elements in the 
thing learned and in that to be learned. The principle involved is association after 
dissociation. In order to secure transfer of training, a variety of instances should 
be made basal in deriving a concept, the meaning as well as the form of the thing 
learned should be emphasized, and a variety of applications should be employed. 

6. Summary 25 



CHAPTER III 

AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 

1. Educational Aims 28 

The seemingly disparate formulations of the aim of education are fundamentally agreed 
upon five elements. These are in terms of knowledge, sympathy, thought-power, 
ability to express and act, and permanence of character and attainment. 

2. Essentials and Factors of Instruction .... 30 

Relation of instruction to education. Teaching must produce knowledge, thought- 
power, sentimental development, eflBciency, and permanency. These suggest the 
six fundamental factors of method in instruction: acquisition, reflection, expression- 
application, appreciation, drill, and test. 

3. Importance and Character of the Lesson Aim . 35 

It facilitates definiteness and flexibility of procedure. Teacher's aim and student's 
aim are to a considerable degree coincident, especially in secondary education. Com- 
munity of aim facilitates co-operation. The aim may be expressed in terms of sub- 
ject matter, as well as in terms of the various factors of method. The lesson unit. 

4. The Five Modes of Instruction 39 

The Recitation, Problematic, Appreciation, Expression-Application, and Laboratory 
Modes. Relation between teaching modes and lesson types. The "formal steps" 
of the lesson; their suggestive value and their danger. 

5. Summary 41 

CHAPTER IV 

the class exercise 
I. Meaning 43 

The term is used for all forms of classroom activity, and means much more than mere 
recitation. The class exercise is the occasion for the employment of all the forms 
of instruction. 



CONTENTS XI 

PAGE 

2. Personality in the Class Exercise 45 

The true method provides opportunity for the best development of personality of both 
teacher and pupil. Whatever negates either is bad method. 

3. The Atmosphere of the Class Exercise .... 47 

Cheerfulness and enthusiasm are positive factors in instruction. 

4. The Classroom Activity 48 

Activity is fimdamental in learning. Blackboard work. The mood of expectancy. 
Distribution of activity between teacher and class; between members of the class. 
The teacher's preparation as a means for increasing the efficiency of class work. The 
"tempo" of the classroom. 

5. Summary 53 



CHAPTER V 

THE QUESTION 

1. Its Function 55 

In teaching, the question serves not merely to obtain information but also to bring 
the student to consciousness of a need and to stimulate thought. 

2. Kinds of Questions 56 

Memory question. Analytic questions. Development questions. Comparison-con- 
trast questions. Judgment questions. 

3. The Essentials of Good Questioning 59 

The question must be thought-provoking, clear, brief, and adapted to the student. 

4. The Manner of Questioning 63 

I. Questions should be addressed to the class, altliough answered by one student. 2. 
Questions should be distributed among the pupils, taking account of the students' 
abiUty and special needs. 3. The teacher should manifest an interest in the question. 

5. The Question as an Index of Efficiency in Teaching 67 

The number of questions, and the distribution of activity between teacher and class. 

6. The Answer 68 

The answer must be adequate and matured. The topical recitation. The form of ex- 
pression in the answer. 

7. The Pupil's Question 71 

Its importance and treatment. 

8. Summary 72 



Xll CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VI 

THE RECITATION MODE 

PAGE 

1. Meaning of Recitation 74 

The recitation as mechanical reciting. The opposite extreme. True function of reci- 
tation. 

2. The Recitation as Testing 75 

Its aim is to insure progress: by determining faithfulness, adequacy of preparation and 
instruction, and appropriateness of material, and by providing opportunity for ex- 
pression and correction. When is a lesson adequately prepared? The enforcing of 
preparation. The oral quiz, and its functions. The examination, its aim and re- 
quirements. 

3. The Recitation as Drill 83 

Drill is to render processes or memories stereotyped and automatic. Applicability of 
drill. Its dangers: excess and insuflSciency. Relation of attention to drill. Drill 
as habit-forming: initiation and fixation. Drill as memory-forming: learning, re- 
tention, recall, and recognition. Memory content must be deeply impressed, and 
widely and strongly associated. Repetition in drill: its degree and distribution. 
Drill must be intelligent, applied, and suflScient. The meaning and criticism of 
cramming. 

4. Propaedeutic Function of the Recitation ... 94 

Learning as apperception. The recitation as a preparation step. The recitation as a 
sole mode in instruction. 

5. Summary 98 



CHAPTER VTI 

LESSON DEVELOPMENT 

1. Learning and Feeling 100 

The curriculum is a system of situations forthe student. His meeting of the situation; 
knowledge of it, its appeal to him, his response and expression. The response is as 
intellectual or as sentimental, as learning or as feeling. Learning as informational 
or as problematic. 

2. Development in Teaching 102 

Nature of development. Student activity is fundamental in development. Difficulty 
in its use. 



CONTENTS xm 



3. General Principles op Development Instruction . 106 

From known to unknown. Analogy: its character and essentials. From simple to 
complex; limitations of the principle. From concrete to abstract; must end in 
further concrete. Illustration, as a form of the concrete. Its place and use in in- 
struction. Essentials of good illustration: familiarity, accuracy, simplicity, sig- 
nificance. Student's contribution in development. Over-instruction. 

4. Typical Forms of Development 118 

Socratic, heuristic, lecture. Applicability of each. 

5. The Place of Development in the Class ExERasE 123 

Following the recitation. Relation to lesson assignment. 

6. Summary . 126 



/ 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 

1. Character and Function 129 

A problem is any situation stimulating to knowledge or thought. Informational and 
thought problems. Thought problems as inductive and deductive. 

2. Sources of Information 132 

TeUing, reading, and discovery. Advantages and dangers of teUing. Advantages and 
dangers in use of text-book. Value of discovery as source of information. Require- 
ments of good telling, of good text-book use, and of student's observation. The 
information problem as simple association. 

3. Composition of an Act of Thought 139 

Recognition and formulation of problem, hypothetical solution, reasoning out the im- 
plications, and verification. The thought problem is a form of association after dis- 
sociation. Induction vs. deduction in teacning. 

4. Procedure in the Thought Type of the Problematic 

Mode 142 

I. Recognition and formulation of the problem. Problem must be definitely under- 
stood by both teacher and pupil. Inductive and deductive problems. Problems 
must be real, arising out of the student's experience and needs. Meaning of "reality " 
of problem. The project method. 2. Tentative solution of the problem. Its form. 
Hypothesis must be a definite one for the student and a real solution to the prob- 
lem. 3. Reasoning out the implications of the problem. The student must be the 
real thinker, rather than adopt another's thought. The reasoning must be sound. 
4. Verification of the hypothesis. The concrete of the original problem and that 
of the verification. Relation of verification to application. Degree of rigor in veri- 



XIV CONTENTS 

fication, and attitude of student toward proof. Verification should be definitely 
formulated, since it encourages clearer thinking and offers opportunity for convic- 
tion. Explanation: its character, function, and essentials. Meaning of demon- 
stration. The teacher's place in the problematic mode. 

PAGE 

5. Application or the Problematic Mode in Teaching . 163 

Its application and forms in various studies. The transfer of training in the problem- 
atic mode. The place of problematic procedure in the class exercise. 

6. Summary 170 



CHAPTER IX 

THE appreciation MODE 

1. Character and Function 173 

Appreciation as the sentimental response to a situation. Aim of appreciation instruc- 
tion, to lead to tlie most adequate and helpful rcsiwnse. 

2. Types and Forais or Appreciation 176 

Intellectual, esthetic, and ethical; based upon the three types of sentiment. The 
place of the different typos in the various studies of the curriculum. 

3. Procedure in the Appreciation Mode 177 

Based on creating the right type of situation, i. The teacher must catch the spirit of 
the situation. 2. The situation must be made as real and vivid as possible, by sug- 
gestive imagery, both sensory and idealized. 3. The student must understand the 
medium of expression of the material studied. The securing of this understanding; 
its method and Hmitations. 4. An analysis of the content is necessary, yet if over- 
done will prevent appreciation. 5. The appreciation situation must be such as to 
arouse the activity of the student. He must feel it as one which has a personal sig- 
nificance for him. Pettiness and artificiality in appreciation instruction. 6. Atmos- 
phere of the classroom in appreciation instruction; its importance and control. 
The tempo of appreciation. 

4. Summary i86 



CHAPTER X 

the expression-application mode 
I. Character and Function i88 

Expression and application are the student's extension of the learned and felt to further 
persons and objects. Value of the expression-application mode: it tests the instruc- 
tion, renders impressions definite and permanent, and provides skill in the use of 
knowledge. 



CONTENTS XV 

PAGE 

2. Forms or Expression and Application 190 

Opportunity occurs in almost all instruction. Expression in Engli^ composition. 
Application in laboratory, translation, and exercises. 

3. Home Study as Application ........ 194 

Not an independent preparation for recitation. Essentially an extension and ampli- 
fication of the classroom application. 

4. Essentials oe Expression and Application ... 196 

Determined by function. Expression shall be: i, adequate; 2, general. Application 
shall: 3, immediately follow the development; 4, be typical; 5, intelligent; 6, general. 

5. The Lesson Assignment 201 

Relation to classroom application. Should come at close of class hour. Definiteness 
of assignment. Stimulating to thought. 

6. Summary 205 



CHAPTER XI 

THE LABORATORY MODE 

1. Character and Function 207 

Relation to home study, to the development mode, to the application mode. Five- 
fold function: acquisition of knowledge or sentimental experience, application of 
methods of study, training in observation and induction, technic and manual skill, 
verification. 

2. Types or Laboratory Work 211 

Experimental, observational, appreciation, and application. Meaning of experiment, 
and its use in the secondary school. School laboratory and field excursion. De- 
scription of results in observation; by language, by drawings. Inference from the 
observations. The appreciation laboratory exercise. The application laboratory. 

3. Essentials of Laboratory Instruction 216 

I. Problem must be real; originating in the classroom work. Definiteness of problem; 
in aim and in instructions. 2. Threefold function of the teacher in the laboratory: 
to provoke thought, prevent waste of time and material, direct to sources, 3. Use 
made of results in the laboratory. Results should be definitely thought through, 
adequately described, correlated with the classroom work. 

4. Summary 220 



XVI CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XII 

STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 

PAGE 

1. Significance of Study 222 

It develops initiative and self-control. The wisdom of home study, 

2. Teaching to Study 223 

Study is self-teaching, and follows the methods of class teaching. Securing the problem 
attitude. Getting one's bearings. Use of sources of information. Habit-forming 
and memory-forming in study. Training pupils to recognize problems, to formulate 
hypotheses, to reason out the impHcations, and to verify. Appreciation study through 
understanding of medium of expression, vividness of imagery, and judgment forming. 
Home study as appHcation. Physical and mental conditions for effective study. 

3. Supervised Study 241 

Meaning and need of supervision. Forms of its administration. 

4. Summary 244 



CHAPTER XIII 

LESSON ORGANIZATION 

1. Significance of Organization . 247 

The modes are not methods but the components of methods. Lesson organization as 
a synthesis of modes. 

2. The Lesson Plan 248 

The planning of the lesson, involving determining of aim, selection of content, organiza- 
tion of thought, formulation of pivotal questions, and provision for expression-applica- 
tion. Importance of the assignment. The recitation mode as the completion of the 
cycle. Use of laboratory mode. 

3. Summaries in the Lesson 254 

Character and function of the summary. It should be developed, rather than dictated. 

4. Review and the Review Lesson 255 

Character of review, involving essentials only, for purpose of organization. Its fre- 
quency and forms. 

5. Summary 257 



CONTENTS XVU 

CHAPTER XIV 

STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 

PAGE 

1. Efficiency in Teaching 259 

Importance of measurement of results; for the determination of students' progress, the 
comparison of the work of various classes and schools, the investigation of methods 
of instruction, and the discovery of individual differences and needs. 

2. Essentials of Standardization 263 

Objectivity, definiteness, absoluteness, inclusiveness, practicability. Exact measure- 
ment is possible only when there is an available standard, when the thing measured 
is definitely known,%nd when the zero degree of the quaUty investigated for can be 
determined. The aims of instruction are basal in the evaluation of educational 
products. 

3. Typical Standards and Forms of Measurement . . 271 

Absolute vs. comparative measurements. Various scales and tests for elementary and 
secondary school subjects. The principle of the normal distribution of abiUties, and 
its use as the basis for grading of students' work. The advantages and limitations 
of "scientific grading." 

4. The Practical Value of Standardization and Mea- 

surement IN Secondary Instruction . . . .292 

Use of the standard tests in secondary education. The improvising of further tests. 
Suggestions for testing: isolation of factor tested, adaptation of tests, importance of 
uniformity and clarity in testing. The grading of classes other than normal; by 
seeking to distribute the grades of several successive classes viewed as one, and 
taking account of the grades of other teachers. Significance of grade distribution 
for classes not normal. 

5. Summary . . . . / 306 



CHAPTER XV 

INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS IN SECONDARY INSTRUCTION 

I. Individual Instruction 309 

Its meaning. It is based on individual differences. Differences of environment and 
their utilization. Differences due to heredity: of thought, of disposition, of action. 
Both idea-thinkers and thing-thinkers must be recognized in instruction. Treatment 
of temperamental differences. Following-up instruction; the classroom application, 
the laboratory, the study hour, the personal conference. 



XVlll CONTENTS 

PAGE 

2. Social Instruction 319 

Its meaning. Its aims: social intelligence, social disposition, social efficiencj', social 
habit. Social intelligence inclufles knowledge of the curriculum, of society, of the 
self. Social disposition is determined somewhat by content, but more by the spirit 
and form of instruction. Social efficiency requires that opportunity for social action 
be provided in instruction. Social habit, secured by motivated repetition. The 
agencies for social instruction: the class exercise, the laboratory, the study hour. 
Student co-OF>eration and teacher leadership in theVlass exercise. Students' jjart in 
socialized instruction: co-operation, direction, participation. The laboratory as an 
opportunity for social instruction. The study hour. 

3. The Relation between Individual and Social In- 

struction 336 

Not antagonistic, but as phases of a unity. Socialization of the individual, and its 
meaning for instruction. Individual and social instruction as differentiation and 
integration. 

4. Summary 338 



Appendix 341 

Lesson plans; in physical geography, algebra, United States History, English, Spanish, 
and Home Economics. 

Index 361 



PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

CHAPTER I 

INTRODUCTION 

I. Meaning of Method 

Methods as Ways of Doing Things. — The modem busi- 
ness world, in its quest for efficiency, is devoting more and 
more attention to method. The test of business methods is 
being appHed to educational administration, and the ques- 
tion, '^How are you teaching?" must be faced by the in- 
structor as squarely and as frankly as by the administrator. 
In its literal meaning the term "method '^ refers simply to 
a way or mode of doing anything. Our ways of holding the 
book in reading, of describing an event which we have wit- 
nessed, or of persuading a customer to purchase our wares-— 
all these are methods. Thus we have methods of walking, 
of speaking, of studying, and of instructing. One can no 
more teach without method than he can walk or speak with- 
out muscular activity. In Professor Dewey's words: *'The 
teacher needs to recognize that method covers not only what 
he intentionally devises and employs for the purpose of 
mental training, but also what he does without any conscious 
reference to it — anything in the atmosphere and conduct of 
the school which reacts in any way upon the curiosity, the 
responsiveness, and orderly activity of children."^ The 
skilled educator teaching a "demonstration lesson" in the 
teachers' college and the schoolgirl explaining a problem in 
division to her younger sister are both employing method in 
their teaching, though differing widely in efficiency as educa- 
tors, 

^ Dewey, " How We Think, " p. 42. 



2 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Consciousness in Method. — What causes this difference in 
efficiency? Wherein is the method of one superior to that 
of the other? As a means of enabling the younger child to 
work the problem, the girl's method has a measure of effi- 
ciency, but for real educative service its value may be negli- 
gible or even negative. She has but little understanding of 
the ultimate aim of the work and still less of the means. The 
skilled educator, on the other hand, knows quite definitely 
just what he is seeking to accomplish, and is employing wisely 
selected and adapted methods for its accomplishment. 
Therein lies his greater efficiency as an instructor. 

A fundamental element in his skill is knowledge of end 
and means. Ha\ang his aim ever in mind, he is able at each 
stage in the process to employ those modes of teaching which 
a knowledge of the child mind and the results of his own and 
others' experience indicate as the most serviceable for his 
purpose. The schoolgirl relies almost wholly upon imitation, 
largely unconscious; the skilled educator's method is the 
product of conscious and intelligent selection throughout. 

Skill in Method. — But the teacher's skill is more than 
knowledge. In his long years of training he has carefully 
studied the principles of teaching, has come to understand 
them, and has with experiment and observation put them 
into conscious application so many times that their applica- 
tion is now in a measure a matter of habit. He has made 
these principles of method his own, so that their application 
has become in a large measure unconscious and automatic. 
Some one has said that "sound practice is sound theory un- 
conscious of itself." Otherwise worded, it means simply this. 
Good teaching is the constant interplay of theory and prac- 
tice. The skilful teacher never loses sight of his aims, both 
principal and subordinate. On the other hand, the con- 
stant purposive application of educational principles in the 
realization of those aims has resulted in an ever-increasing 
skill in such application. The processes of ever greater com- 
plexity have become natural and automatic, until he is able 



INTRODUCTION 3 

to realize his aims with a high degree of efficiency because 
the subordinate processes have become laijgely automatic. 
As the oarsman in the college crew must consciously and 
carefully follow the instructions of the coach until his rowing 
is accurate without his thinking of instructions, so the teacher 
can attain corresponding skill in teaching only through the 
training resulting from conscious, careful, persistent appKca- 
tion of educational principles. His attention, thus released 
from technic, is free for the larger consideration of his task. 

It is just at this point, the rendering of educational proc- 
esses unconscious and automatic, that the crucial stage of 
professional training is encountered. Whether we become 
progressive teachers or fall into a rut in our profession de- 
pends almost wholly upon our attitude toward our methods 
It, like habit, makes a good servant but a bad master, and 
the teacher who can use good method in the intelligent accom- 
plishment of his purposes, who can automatically apply edu- 
cational principles in the realization of ever-conscious aims, 
will experience therein not the depression of drudgery but 
the spiritual exaltation of work. The danger is that of losing 
consciousness of purpose and hence permitting habit alone 
to control procedure. 

Types of Teachers. — Much has been said of the "born" 
teacher. Certain it is that great differences of native apti- 
tude for teaching exist. It is the author's behef, however, 
that much misconception in the matter exists. In our obser- 
vation, most if not all so-called *^born'' teachers owe their 
reputation to two things. In the first place, they are by ^^ 
nature unusually S3anpathetic and observing, and in their 
instruction are more quick to detect failure and to make 
required adjustments before wrong procedure has more than 
begun. Secondly, their sympathy and enthusiasm induce a 
highly responsive mood and activity of mind on the part of 
students, which are well known to be most favorable condi- 
tions for learning, whether with or without a teacher. Possi- 
bly, too, they remember well the way in which they learned 



4 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the material, with its difficulties and successes. If we add 
to these elements the resultant one of popularity, the author 
believes that we have the key to the success, both real and 
reputed, of the ''born" teacher, or ''genius." 

A more real character in pedagogic caste is what Professor 

De Garmo calls the artisan teacher. Too many teachers, 

because of narrowness either of training or of perspective, 

lose sight of the broader principles and aims of education, 

^ and reduce teaching to an unthinking, unelastic mechanism. 

V They are sticklers for methodology, but fail to catch the 
vision of true education. To the "artist" teacher, on the 

y other hand, method is but the means to an end; the best 
way of realizing the ultimate aims of instruction. 

For the first class of teachers, the geniuses, or, as Professor 
Rein calls them, "teachers by the grace of God," the teach- 
ing art is largely inborn, not acquired by study. But their 
number is indeed small, if indeed there be such. Unhappy is 
the teacher (and still unhappier his pupils) who, although not 
even an artisan, mistakes himself for a genius and, trusting 
to inspiration, scorns anything which savors of method. On 
the other hand, let us not sink to the plane of the artisan, and 
think of a study of teaching-method as an attempt to take 
over and incorporate certain stereotyped formulas of proce- 
dure, warranted to work whenever certain specified situations 
confront us. The truth is that no artist teacher ever employs 
exactly the same method as his colleague, nor follows un- 
changed his own former practice. The study of the Boston 
Tea Party and the court scene in " The Merchant of Venice " 
cannot be taught twice in exactly the same way. What the 

. true teacher adopts is the principles of method; he adapts his 

[ method as occasion demands. "Professional training in edu- 
cation," says Doctor MacVannel, "must aim to give control 
of the principles or the intellectual methods involved in prac- 
tice rather than the mere mastery of technic." ^ He whose 

^ MacVannel, "The College Course in the Principles of Education," 
p. i6. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

training gives him this intelligent control need have no fear 
of losing his personality and becoming a mere machine in his 
profession. His progress is assured. 

2. Basis of Method in Secondary Instruction 

Principles of Method. — Do principles of method exist? 
Is it true that we can find principles which possess general 
validity for the teaching process, and, if so, what are they, 
and where are they to be sought? Miinch seems to offer an 
affirmative answer. ^'Method,'* he says, ''means that which 
is obtained in clearly defined principles by the consideration, 
on the one hand, of the laws of the mental life, and on the 
other of the nature of both content and aim of instruction; it 
accordingly has equal validity for all instructors." ^ In so 
far as these laws of the mental life have validity, the derived 
science of teaching is estabhshed as an applied science, not 
merely as an empirically discovered art. The truth of this 
position has long since received some recognition in the field 
of elementary school method, so that to-day there is evident 
a tendency toward the other extreme, the substitution of 
formaHsm in instruction at the expense of personality. In 
the domain of secondary education, however, the situation is 
not as clear. Educators are justly in revolt against any 
attempt to prescribe specific methods or systems of methods 
according to which the various high school subjects shall be 
taught. Just as methods vary with teachers and with classes, 
so they must vary with subjects. It is evidently with this 
thought in mind that one writer has said: ''There is no such 
thing as a high school pedagogy. It is time all students of 
secondary education recognize that we must speak rather of 
high school pedagogies." ^ Yet no one trained in educational 
thought will question that there are certain principles in 
accord with which the teacher must proceed if he would suc- 

^ Miinch, "Geist des Lehramts," p. 386. 
2 Johnston, "High School Education," p. v. 



6 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ceed. The musical composer and the painter, the architect 
and the teacher are herein similarly situated. The teaching 
profession must carefully distinguish between the ''methods" 
of teaching and the *' principles of method." * 

Nevertheless, there are not a few to whom *' methods" and 
"method" are synonymous, and in their protest against a 
study of methods they will have nothing to do with anything 
that even suggests method. Doubtless the chief cause of 
this attitude, which is especially common in the universities, 
is the failure of the college professor, a specialist in a particu- 
lar field of science, to catch the point of view of secondary 
education. He thinks of his science primarily as a science, 
rather than as a means for developing personality; he is ab- 
sorbed in the science as knowledge, and in fact so teaches it, 
forgetting the human factor, the student. Indeed, the most 
frequent criticism offered against the teaching done by newly 
graduated college students is that they carry over to the 
high school this point of view of their college study, absorbed 
from their professors in the university. When the principles 
of psychology cease to be true, and the aim of education is 
displaced by the particular aims of the various secondary 
school studies, each determined solely by the content of the 
study, then and not until then will there cease to be valid 
general principles of method in secondary education. But 
that day is not yet.^ 

The Method of Secondary Instruction. — In the typical 
school system, adolescent children are found in grammar 
grades as well as high school, and into the junior high school 
especially not a few preadolescents find their way. In the 
main, however, the high school is to be thought of as pecu- 
liarly the school of adolescence, and the psychology of ado- 
lescence must accordingly play the leading part in secondary 

* The employment of the word "method" for the great body of method- 
principles, the science of method, seems justified by common usage, and 
will be followed in this book. 

*A further objection to the study of method, based upon the differ- 
ences of individuals, is treated in Chapter XV, pages 309^. 



INTRODUCTION 7 

method. While not fundamentally different from the psy- 
chology of childhood, for adolescence is a development from 
childhood, it nevertheless represents a later stage of mental 
growth, with new interests and new distributions of interest 
and power. However, not merely does the high school boy 
think differently, feel differently, act differently from his 
brother in the grades, but he lives in a very different world. 
His environment has assumed new meanings, and as inter- 
preted in the form of the school curriculum, that environ- 
ment is differently organized and differently presented. The 
method of high school instruction, therefore, with the psy- 
chology and environment of adolescence as its basis, differs 
sufiSciently from elementary method to justify its special 
study on the part of the high school instructor. Doubtless 
many a secondary school teacher can appreciate the author's 
experience in trying to apply in the high school the only 
method he could find treated in educational works, viz., ele- 
mentary method, and then turning in disappointment and 
disgust from all method as such. The fault lay not in the 
principles of teaching but in their wrong application. It is 
the purpose of a course in the principles of secondary instruc- 
tion not merely to give a statement and exposition of those 
principles, but also to indicate something of the ways in 
which they may be applied in the work of teaching. A fre- 
quent criticism of high school teachers is not that they are 
ignorant of the principles of education, but that they have 
never had their attention called to the practical application 
of those principles. The aim in the succeeding chapters will 
be to bring the theory of education in the abstract near 
enough to the practice of teaching in the concrete to enable 
the inexperienced teacher to realize the connection between 
the theory and the practice. The text is intended not as a 
substitute for experience but as a director and inspirer of 
experience. 

In realizing the aims of education through the teaching 
process, method must take account both of the student and 



8 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

of the subject-matter. Of these the latter, with the emphasis 
upon content, furnishes the basis for the study of special 
method, and therein is treated more specifically the applica- 
tion of the general principles in the teaching of various studies 
of the curriculum. Realizing the need for such study, the 
colleges are offering courses in the teaching of History, of 
Latin, of Mathematics, and of English. For our present 
study of the principles of teaching, there falls to us as our 
field the consideration of those general principles themselves, 
with the adolescent's intellectual make-up and psychical de- 
velopment as our starting-point. The former, the intellec- 
tual endowment and tendencies of the student, might be lik- 
ened to the forces with which we deal, the component ele- 
ments in the dynamic system of learning, feeling, and acting. 
All that the youth thinks, all his attitudes toward the world 
about him, all his activities are determined by his interests and 
tendencies, and his educational development is but the unfold- 
ing of these under the influence of the environment, whether 
natural or man-made. The teacher soon learns that interests 
are not to be created or supplied, but that, actually or poten- 
tially, their list is already complete before the student's name 
is entered upon the class roll. These are the basis of the 
student's self-activity, and through these alone can the 
teacher gain access to the inner precincts of the self for the 
influencing and directing of its development. On the other 
hand, the instructor realizes that in the functioning of these 
tendencies, as the child mind develops, certain principles 
hold, and with these all educational efforts must be in accord. 
The laws of thinking, of feeling, of acting are pretty well 
established, and he who would direct the learning process 
may not ignore the laws of learning. Upon these two foun- 
dation-stones — the adolescent fund of tendencies, both native 
and acquired, and the functioning of these in learning — ^we 
must build our superstructure of secondary method. Getting 
the view-point of the student and directing our procedure 
accordingly is the first essential in teaching. 



INTRODUCTION 



3. Summary 

Success in instruction involves an understanding of the 
aim and method of instruction, and skill in the application of 
method. The true teacher is the one who thus intelligently 
adapts procedure to aim, recognizing and employing the prin- 
ciples upon which method must be based. 

Method is not a slavish adherence to fixed rules of proce- 
dure, but is the application of established educational princi- 
ples to the work of teaching. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Examine several books on special methods and see if they seem 
to advocate method or methods. 

2. Some teachers trust to inspiration alone in matters of method. 
Into what dangers does such teaching fall ? 

3. Would it be best for the inexperienced teacher to begin by merely 
imitating some good teacher, and to trust to experience to produce 
improvement ? 

4. Is the difference between elementary and secondary teaching 
mainly a difference of method or of methods ? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Dewey's article on "Method," in Monroe's " Cyclopedia of Education." 
Suzzallo's article on "Method of Recitation," in Monroe's "Cyclo- 
pedia of Education." 
De Garmo, "Interest and Education," chap. VIII. 



„^- 



CHAPTER II 

SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 
I. The Child's Equipment 

Native and Acquired Traits. — The teacher must start with 
the child as he finds him. When the pupil enters upon his 
high school career, he brings with him fairly definite and pre- 
sumably adequate equipment. He has, or rather is, a ner- 
vous system which is a storehouse of tendencies and experi- 
ences, both racial and individual. At birth he inherited a 
complex of instincts and native capacities, and during the 
course of his home and school life those instincts have been 
developed and directed, those capacities have been partially 
realized. 

Strictly speaking, the pupil is essentially a bundle of 
activity, of native and acquired tendencies to action. His 
body is a veritable storehouse of energy, demanding outlet in 
physical activity, and revolting against restraint. His in- 
stinctive curiosity and impulse to know and understand 
prompt him to extend his knowledge in the fields into which 
his elementary school training has introduced him. With 
the development and exercise of the social instinct he de- 
mands opportunity for the realization of his social nature. 
Thus, the basis for all teaching is the activity of the child. 
All that teaching can do is to induce and direct that activity, 
and the key-note of our study of teaching method must con- 
stantly be the self-activity of the student. If I would have 
a strong arm, I must move that arm myself. No amount of 
massaging or manipulation by another will avail unless I 
myself actively participate. In the school world, as in the 
physician's ofiice, intellectual massaging will never produce 
power. The child must be the actor, and the starting-point 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING II 

of the teacher's efforts must be these dynamic tendencies of 
the child. 

Individual Differences. — But neither by native endow- 
ment nor by subsequent training are all children alike. Due 
to differences of hereditary influence, the various instincts 
differ in form and strength, the various capacities differ in 
degree. Different environments and training have in turn 
accentuated differences of heredity, and have produced infinite 
variations in their development. Moreover, all these and 
other factors unite to determine children's future careers and 
their consequent individual needs. If we are to personalize 
our instruction, and to teach pupils rather than subjects, the 
teaching process must ever be adaptive. Without losing 
sight of the general principles upon which all teaching must 
rest, we must adapt the application of those principles to the 
individual traits and needs of our pupils. 

2. Interest and Teaching 

Importance of Interest in Teaching. — For a century, and 
with ever-increasing earnestness, educational writers have 
been urging upon teachers the vital importance of an appeal 
to the interests of the student. Mr. Dooley's declaration 
that "it don't make any difference what you eddicate a boy 
with so long as it's something he don't like" is more practised 
than preached, and the practice itself is on the wane. The 
youth whose chief interest is in motors and aeronautics is not 
likely to experience enthusiasm over the study of classical 
philology, nor will his attempts to master the latter be nearly 
so effectual as the same degree of energy expended upon the 
applications of physical science. Moreover, in his study of 
either, he is entering what is to him an unexplored region. 
All is comparatively new and strange, and unless he is pro- 
vided with a guide-book, not to do his seeing for him but to 
direct his eyes to the things worth seeing, much energy will 
be wasted and many valuable lessons will go unlearned. 



^ 



12 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The Inducing of Interest. — Thus the teacher has a twofold 
function. First, we say, he must induce interest in the school 
work. But in terms of classroom instruction, what does thig 
mean? And just how is it to be done? In the first place, 
the teacher must so present the material of instruction that 
it will offer the student a. real problem, one that has a direct 
and obvious function in his life, and appeals to him as worth 
while. It is not enough that the teacher know it to be worth 
while, although this is necessary, since a what's-the-use spirit 
on the teacher's part produces a no-use attitude in the pupil. 
To the student himself the appeal must be real and conscious. 
Each topic, each problem must be so opened to him as to fit 
a need in his Hfe, a need of which he may hitherto have been 
unconscious, but which he now feels to be real. This is not 
preaching a doctrine of ''soft pedagogics." True pedagogics 
are never ''soft," but are founded upon the exhilaration of 
work, purposive and earnest work, and neither drudgery nor 
trifling. What is needed in life to-day is not a readiness to 
expend our energies upon what appeals to us as useless, but 
the ability to recognize the useful when we meet it, and hav- 
ing recognized it to make it our own. Tom Sawyer, selling 
to his playmates the privilege of whitewashing the fence, was 
exercising a pedagogical talent. But the teacher must do 
more than sell privileges and take pay in apple-cores. He 
must be sure that the thing to be done is really worth to the 
student the effort involved. Too often it is not worth while, 
and yet oftener the worth is not clear in the teacher's mind. 

Yet it must not be imagined that the student will always 
be quick to appreciate the value of all that the curriculum 
offers. The value to him of his Latin conjugation or of the 
scientific name of the dandelion may not be fully obvious 
when first encountered. In practically all cases, however, 
the skilful teacher will find means to take over interest from 
some related topic already interesting, or even, by the con- 
tagion of his own interest, induce an interest in the thing in 
hand. In the words of Professor De Garmo, "we must 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 1 3 

arouse interest in the subjects now uninteresting, not alone 
through charm and skill, but also by showing how these sub- 
jects contribute to ends in which interest is already aroused. 
This is interest by induction ; it is more potent in higher than 
in lower grades. It should be possible to arouse the interest 
of a high school student in any subject that is plainly contrib- 
utory to the purposes he has already formed. Though such 
an induced interest might be called indirect, yet there is a 
good prospect that it will become direct and independent, 
provided the subject is well taught." ^ 

Finally, and perhaps most important, in the inducing of ._^ 
interest, appeal must be made to the active participation of ^' 
the student. That interests us most in which we have a real , 
part; in which we really do something. Call upon the unin- 
terested boy to come and help you adjust the apparatus, and 
the truth of what we have just said will need no further veri- 
fication. The wise teacher will find opportunities, or if neces- 
sary make them, for giving his students an active part in 
what is going on. 

Thus the induction of interest may well be sought in these 
four ways: give a real problem, be interested, build upon 
existing interests, and provide for participative acti\dty. 

The Directing of Interest. — The second function of the 
teacher is to direct the student in the pursuit of his interests. 
Entering a strange territory, the curriculum of the secondary 
school, and knowing but Httle of the destination to which the 
various paths lead, the pupil is almost as likely to choose the 
wrong path as the right one. His choice will be governed by 
merely immediate interests, since ultimate ones cannot func- 
tion. Many a topic in history, science, or English, poten- 
tially of absorbing interest, is lost to the pupil because he 
fails to notice its significance. Here he needs the guidance 
of the teacher, who knows the field and whose judgment is 
based upon experience and training. The word to the in- 
structor, therefore, would be this. First determine the prob- 

*De Garmo, " Interest and Education," p. 120. 



14 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

lems and situations that are vital to the student; those which 
are of real value to him, especially in view of his past experi- 
ences and present interests. Then, by giving due prominence 
to those elements and their value to the student, lead him on 
through his present interests to the solution of the new prob- 
lems and reaction to the new situations. In this guidance 
the teacher must inspire his charge to co-operative activity, 
he must lead rather than carry, and must show the way only 
when the youth is unable to find it for himself. He must not 
forget that it is in the finding and not the having found, in 
the process rather than the product, that the value of instruc- 
tion is realized. 

3. Attention and Teaching 

Importance of Attention in Teaching. — It is but to deduce 
a corollary from the above to say that we cannot teach with- 
out attention, for attention and interest are inseparable. 
Not a few psychologists employ the terms interchangeably. 
*'The term * attention/'^ says Miss Calkins, "is a psychologi- 
cal synonym of the expression * interest.' To be attended to 
means precisely to be interesting.^' ^ The lecturer who can- 
not hold the attention of his audience is one whose lecture 
does not interest them. The teacher who declares, "I know 
that I could interest my class if they would only pay atten- 
tion!" is mistaken in her dia.gnosis of the situation, except 
perhaps that the pupils find something else so much more 
interesting than the lesson that they choose the former unless 
forced to refrain. If one would have his class truly attentive, 
he must interest them. 

Attention involves the reinforcement of one idea at the 
expense of other ideas, which are accordingly inhibited. But 
this reinforcement and this inhibition are not always easy. 
There are varying degrees of appeal, both of the one idea to 
be reinforced and of the others to be inhibited. The former 

* Calkins, "Introduction to Psychology," p. 137. 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 1 5 

may have only an indirect interest, while the latter may, for 
various reasons, be highly insistent and irrepressible. Ac- 
cordingly, we find wide differences of degree of effort in 
attention, ranging from the comparative ease of passive or 
primary attention to the greater stress of active or secondary- 
attention. The former is necessarily more complete and con- 
centrated, and what is learned by passive attention makes 
a deeper and more lasting impression. However, in school 
work it is usually unattainable. At best, the subject-matter 
has usually only an indirect appeal, and the pupil's attention 
is rendered only through effort. 

Not only in the school but in later life the ability to give 
intensive and sustained attention is essential for the highest 
efficiency. The school-child or the professional man who is 
able to concentrate his mind upon a single idea or line of 
thought is the one who wdll really accompKsh things. This 
abihty is largely the product of training. Teachers have 
always reahzed the importance of attention as a condition in 
discipline: too little we recognize the demand for its training 
as a pa.rt of every child's right and every teacher's duty in 
view of the demands of post-scholastic life. 

The Securing of Attention. — To establish the importance 
of attention no further proof is demanded. The question 
rather is how the teacher shall secure it, and to this the an- 
swer has largely been implied in the foregoing paragraphs. 
From what has been said, it must be inferred that the prime 
condition is interest, and the rules for inducing and directing 
interest apply with equal vaHdity to attention. To these, 
however, some supplementary suggestions may well be added. 

Since much of the content of school instruction has only 
a mediate appeal to the pupil, or its real interest is not imme- 
diately evident to him, active attention must be employed. 
This involves, as we have seen, the reinforcement of the one 
idea and the inhibition or neglect of others. For the accom- 
phshment of the latter mere prohibitions are of little avail. 
We must not say to our class, '^Now, don't think of so-and-so 



1 6 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

and so-and-so," for in so doing we but reinforce rather than 
inhibit thought where it is not wanted. Rather we must 
seek to prevent tliese ideas coming into consciousness at all. 
The chief function of classroom management is to prevent 
the occurrence or existence of conditions which might attract 
attention to themselves and away from the topic of the in- 
struction. Thus, all such distracting influences as disorder, 
public disciplining in class, physical or mental discomfort, 
and hostility toward teacher or school are negative forces in 
teaching largely because they insistently demand attention 
to themselves. So instead of saying ''Don't think about 
those things," we must say ''Think about this thing," and 
must see to it that there is some definite and attractive fea- 
ture of it pushed forward for attention to centre upon. Posi- 
tive incentives avail infinitely more than do negative ones. 

Thus, most of our teaching must start with active atten- 
tion. But it must not stop there. The content of instruction 
must have in it something of real value and ultimate appeal 
to the pupil if it is to render him lasting service. We must 
build up our active or secondary attention into a secondary 
passive or derived primary attention. That is, we must 
strive to bring the student to such an understanding of the 
content that its value to him is more clearly seen and imme- 
diately felt. That which he attended to merely as means 
to end must ultimately hold his attention because of what it 
really is to him. Otherwise, it slips from his mind as soon 
as the end to which it was a means has ceased to hold 
him. 

What we have said must not be interpreted to justify a 
weak do-as-you-please attitude on the teacher's part. School- 
children are immature and inexperienced, and need both 
the reinforcement of authority and the guidance of broader 
experience. Often, therefore, we must insist upon attention. 
"You must attend" is an appropriate phrase in the school 
when "Let's consider so-and-so" proves inadequate. But 
let us as soon as possible advance from the first to the second. 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 1 7 

from external authority to self-control, from teacher activity 
to student activity, from active to secondary passive atten- 
tion. 

4. Associative Learning^ 

Nature of Association. — ^In the course of our every-day 
life all our experiences, whether simple or complex, come to 
us as discrete units, one by one. But if they are to have 
any significance for us, if we are to learn, associations between 
experiences must be set up. The child will never learn to 
walk save by associating sensations of eye and pressure with 
muscular movements. He will never learn the capital of 
England except by the association of the ideas "capital of 
England" and "London." He will never form the habit 
of saying "Thank you" unless there is set up an association 
between the act and the situation which demands it. 

It is a matter of common observation that ideas or acts 
which have once occurred together tend thereafter to recur 
together: that the mind naturally forms associations of ele- 
ments that have once fallen together whether through chance 
or relationship. Naturally, then, upon the teacher devolves 
the task of controlling these associations: of setting up and 
encouraging desirable associations and preventing undesirable 
ones. Teaching the child the capital of England involves 
the securing of such conditions that it will be associated with 
London and not with Paris or Berlin. This control of condi- 
tions for the formation of associations of thought, of feeling, 
and of action, constitutes by far the major part of the teach- 
ing process. 

Securing and Controlling Associations. — The rules for 
controlling the conditions of association, though wide their 
application, are fundamentally the two implied in the pre- 

^ Possibly the best discussion of association and dissociation in their 
educational bearings is that by Thorndike in his "Elements of Psychol- 
ogy," chaps. Xlll and XIV, and his "Principles of Teaching," chaps. 
VI 1 1 and IX. Our own discussion follows in the main Thorndike's treat- 
ment of the topic. 



1 8 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ceding paragraph. First: determine how you wish the ele- 
ments to be associated, and see to it that the student encoun- 
ters them in that arrangement, repeatedly and invariably. 
Second: once the association is formed, reinforce it by encour- 
agement, making it worth while to the pupil. And, nega- 
tively stated, discourage the undesired association by mak- 
ing it unprofitable. 

In a Latin class these rules were applied in this way. The 
class had placed upon the board a portion of a verb conjuga- 
tion. As soon as each pupil's work had been considered, it 
was left upon the board if correct; but if incorrect it was 
erased, and the correct form, written three times, was sub- 
stituted by the student. Thus the correct association was 
allowed constantly to establish itself in the minds of the 
pupils during the remainder of the hour, the incorrect one 
was removed as a possibility; the former was encouraged, the 
latter discouraged. 

A chemistry instructor wished to teach his class the lesson 
that seemingly trifling differences in composition are impor- 
tant to the chemist. Instructing his class to treat a small 
quantity of KCl with H2SO4, he set out on the supply table, 
in addition to the H2SO4, bottles of both KCl and KCIO3. 
From the successful experiments of those who were exact, 
and the \dolent chemical action and broken apparatus of 
those who used KCIO3, the class learned the lesson of exact- 
ness. The instructor had so arranged his conditions that 
accuracy became strongly associated with chemical proce- 
dure, and impressed the lesson by encouraging the desired 
and discouraging the undesired associations. 

Association after Dissociation. — The associations of which 
we have been speaking were of the simple, immediate type, 
in which the association was of elements taken as they pre- 
sented themselves, unchanged by any preliminary mental 
activity. Not all association, however, is of this type. 
*'The truth is,'^ says Professor James, *'that experience is 
trained by both association and dissociation, and that psy- 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 1 9 

chology must be writ both in synthetic and analytic terms." ^ 
On a higher intellectual plane and involving a more complex 
mental functioning than the other is the type known as asso- 
ciation after disjunction. A concrete illustration may render 
explanation easier. The student of geometry is studying 
about polyhedral angles. He is told that the corner of a 
box, the apex of a square pyramid, and the apex of a hexagonal 
pyramid are such angles. By a process of analysis, he ab- 
stracts the feature common to all these cases, and then syn- 
thetically builds up the concept of polyhedral angle. Thus 
we have a case of analysis followed by synthej^is, or associa- 
tion based upon dissociation. 

All stages of learning, and especially the more advanced, 
abound in mental activity of this type. Whenever the pupil, 
confronted by a series of situations having a common factor, 
analyzes out that factor and forms therefrom a new and uni- 
tary concept, distinct from the particular instances in which 
that factor occurred, the process is that of association after 
disjunction, or association based upon dissociation. In this 
the distinguishing feature is the analytic activity, which is 
almost or wholly absent from the simple association. It is 
this process of analyzing situations into components, and the 
recognition of the identity of elements in situations, which gives 
it its superiority over simple association as a learning activity. 

All reasoning is based upon association after analysis. 
When the student concludes from the form of a mound that 
it is of glacial origin, he first analyzes out from the total situa- 
tion those features which he has found to be common to and 
characteristic of glacial mounds, and by association concludes 
glacial formation for the mound before him. His demon- 
stration of the proposition that the bisector of an angle bisects 
the subtended arc is based upon analysis of the qualities of 
the bisector of the angle and of that of the arc, and the in- 
ference from the one to the other based upon the common 
essential element in both. 

^ James, "Psychology," vol. I, p. 487. 



20 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

What is the teacher's function in securing this dissociation- 
association activity? What are the conditions under which 
it can best occur? Obviously, the rules which have already 
been given for simple association apply with equal validity 
for the association which follows the disjunction. For the 
dissociative activity the following suggestions are offered. 
In the first place, the cases from which the dissociation is to 
occur must be such that the element to be dissociated is fairly 
conspicuous and easily distinguishable. Here the teacher 
must realize that what appears prominent enough to one who 
has already noticed it may easily escape the first glance of 
another person. It naturally follows that the conspicuity of 
the element can be much enhanced by directing the attention 
to it as the various cases are studied and compared. To 
build up the concept of the representative basis for taxation, 
it would be unwise to choose instances wherein the applica- 
tion of the principle is interwoven with a variety of other 
complicating elements. In the second place, the cases upon 
which the dissociation is to be made should involve different 
combinations of the element to be analyzed out. For exam- 
ple, using again the illustration of the polyhedral angle, it 
would be far better to derive the concept from such cases as 
the apex of a square pyramid, the corner of a cube, and the 
apex of a hexagonal pyramid than from several trihedral 
angles only. A third rule tells us that, as soon as the disso- 
ciation is once started, the dissociated element should at once 
be associated to some name or symbol. The derivation of 
the concept of the polyhedral angle cannot proceed far unless 
the name for the concept is early introduced. Thus, the 
name serves to focalize the attention in the analysis, and to 
render the concept definite and usable. Finally, the abstrac- 
tion should be rendered permanent and its implications 
broadened by its application to further concrete cases. When 
the student has gained the concept of representative taxa- 
tion or polyhedral angle, he should apply that concept to 
instances other than those from which it was derived. 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 21 

In the present section we have endeavored merely to give 
a general statement of the principles of association and dis- 
sociation. In subsequent chapters we shall see how most of 
our teaching involves an application of these principles. In 
the study of the recitation mode we shall find that both 
memory-forming and habit-forming are essentially t3^es of 
simple association. In the discussion of the problematic 
mode it will appear that the finding-out problem and the 
thinking-out problem are based upon simple association and 
association after disjunction respectively. The teaching of 
appreciation, as we shall see, must recognize the association 
of feelings with ideas, and the importance and conditions of 
the control of such associations. In the expression-applica- 
tion mode and the laboratory mode, various applications are 
made of all the laws of association and dissociation. To no 
inconsiderable degree, the problem of the succeeding section 
is related to that of the present one. 

5. The Transfer of Acquired Efficiency 

The Basal Principle in Transferrence. — Until compara- 
tively recently it was imagined by many that the mind con- 
sists of certain general powers or faculties, such as memory, 
reasoning, and imagination, and that the training of one of 
these faculties upon one form of content would constitute a 
training of it for other more or less dissimilar content. For 
example, it was thought that the training of the reasoning 
power in geometry would effect its training for science or 
history or even for the every-day reasoning of the commercial 
world. In a similar way, examples of supposed transferrence 
of training might be multiplied: perception of Latin verb end- 
ings leading to perception of characteristics, memory for 
German genders leading to memory for historical chronology, 
imagination in geometry leading to imagination in English 
composition. Thus accuracy, neatness, promptness, regular- 
ity, and the entire list of school virtues could, it was sup- 



22 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

posed, be so developed in the school as to function in the 
home, the shop, the street, or adult society generally. Pre- 
vailing conceptions not of curriculum alone but of instruction 
as well were based upon this assumption of the transferrence 
of training. So deeply was the behef rooted in educational 
procedure that despite various and repeated attacks upon it 
by students of education and psychology it is even to-day 
implicitly basal in curriculum and method in schools and 
colleges. 

Possibly its tenacity of life is due in part to a measure of 
truth which conservative opinion dislikes to abandon and 
which recent investigation seems to confirm. WTiat is that 
truth, if truth it be, and what its significance for methods of 
instruction? The limited scope of this book precludes more 
than brief and somewhat general answer to these questions, 
and especially to the former. ^ Psychologically speaking, 
learning involves the forming of a connection between a situ- 
ation and a response. Some concrete examples may assist 
us in our interpretation. In learning the factoring of a^ — b"^, 
the gender of Klugheit, or the typewriting of the word and, 
the situation involves the recognition of the expression a^ — b^, 
the word Klugheit, or the word and, and connected as re- 
sponse to it the conscious want of the factors of the expres- 
sion, the corresponding gender, or the appropriate manipula- 
tion of typewriter keys. Simply illustrated, the transfer 
problem might in this case be. Does the training in the fac- 
toring of a'^ — b^ assist in learning to factor x^ — y^ and a^ — b^? 
Does the learning of the gender of Klugheit assist in the 
learning of the gender of SchdnJieit? Does the skill in type- 
writing and facilitate the learning to typewrite for? If the 
answers be affirmative in the above cases, with seemingly 
very similar content for the transferrence, how far does the 

^A better statement of Thorndike's view Is to be found in his "Edu- 
cational Psychology," vol. II. A different point of view is that taken by 
Judd in his "Psychology of High School Subjects," chap. XVII. Starch's 
"Educational Psychology," chaps, XIII and XIV, gives possibly the best 
general exposition of present-day opinion on the subject. 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 23 

training carry over into more dissimilar situations ? In most 
of our learning, the composition of the situation is very com- 
plex; more so, in fact, than is commonly realized. More- 
over, seemingly similar situations may really be similar in 
only a few of their components, dissimilar in other and vital 
points. Conversely, seemingly dissimilar situations may be 
dissimilar in but a few of their elements, and similar in the 
others. It is on this identity of elements that the truth of 
the transferrence of training depends. Briefly stated, the be- 
lief of Professor Thorndike is this : transfer of training occurs 
only to the degree that the old and the new have common 
elements. In learning the factoring of a^ — b^ the boy may 
learn it as the method of factoring the difference of two 
squares, or as the factors of the particular expression a^ — b^. 
Confronted with x^ — y^ there would in the former case be 
the recognition of it as the difference of two squares, which 
would thus provide the common element between the two 
situations, and the learning from the first would carry over 
to the second. However, if he has learned merely that the 
factors of a^ — b^ are a — b and a -\- b, the x^ — y^ situation 
will present to him no element from the a^ — b^ situation, and 
its solution will necessarily be learned de now. The prin- 
ciple involved in this very simple case holds good, we are 
told, in the more complex learning activities. In each of the 
instances mentioned in this and the preceding paragraphs, 
as well as in all forms of learning, that which is learned, 
whether knowledge or process, is serviceable in new situations 
in proportion to the degree of identity of elements in the old 
and the new situations. 

The fundamental principle involved is really that of asso- 
ciation after dissociation. In teaching the factoring of the 
difference of two squares the instructor confronts the pupil 
with a number of cases: such as a^ — b^, c^ — d^, r^ — 4, etc. 
In each case, attention is called to the one feature common 
to all: viz., the fact that each expression is the difference of 
the squares of two quantities and factors into the sum and 



24 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

difference of the quantities. In each case there occurs an 
act of dissociation and following this comes the act of asso- 
ciation of all in the form of a generalization. The boy may 
become able to factor or — b- into a -\- b and a — b sl thousand 
times, but without this dissociation-association process, with- 
out this generalization, the power acquired will never be 
transferred to other expressions. Similarly, it has been 
shown by Bagley^ and others that merely teaching children to 
be neat in their arithmetic papers produces no real effect 
upon the neatness of other written work. Only when the 
particular quality of neatness is isolated and dissociated from 
arithmetic papers as such, and generalized in an application 
to papers and written work in general, will transfer of training 
occur. 

Pedagogical Applications of the Principle. — The principle 
of the transferrence of training as thus stated is comparatively 
simple. Its implications and applications in the problems of 
teaching are quite the opposite, and as yet little has been 
done in the way of educational reconstruction in the light of 
the principle already agreed upon. For our purpose it will 
suffice to suggest three ways in which the teacher, especially 
in the secondary school, must recognize the principle in his 
instruction. In the first place, in deriving a concept, either 
of knowledge or of process, the derivation must be made not 
from one concrete case but from a wide variety of cases, since 
otherwise the student will, as in the factoring illustration 
above, connect the response learned with the single situation 
as a whole instead of with the common essential of all, and 
thus be unable to carry over his learning to other situations 
involving that element, though different in form. The im- 
mature mind is incapable of analyzing a single instance suffi- 
ciently for the dissociation of an abstract quality as the basis 
of a generalization. The second suggestion, following directly 
from the above, is that the meaning rather than the mere 
form of what is learned shall be at the basis of the learning. 
^ Bagley, "Educative Process," p. 208. 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 25 

Situations with identity of form are rare; those with identity 
of meaning as regards the essential elements are many, and 
the degree to which learning can be transferred depends upon 
the degree to which the student can recognize identity of 
essential elements in the situations. Thirdly, applications of 
the principle or process should be varied, thus injecting into 
the learning a training in looking for identity of essential ele- 
ments between the famiHar situation learned and the wide 
range of situations to which the learning can be applied. 
Further applications of these three suggestions will be made 
later in our study, especially in the chapters on the problem- 
atic and the application modes of instruction. 

Writers both on general and on special method are fre- 
quent offenders in the violation of these principles. Method 
texts, including some even recently pubKshed, abound in ref- 
erences to the training of the observation, the memory, the 
reason, in a general way, tacitly assuming an identity in the 
observation of chemistry and of German, in the memory of 
history and of Latin, in the reasoning of geometry and of 
physics. On the other hand, the writer on special method 
often falls into a somewhat similar error in failing to provide 
for the identification of common elements of learning in his 
own special field and in other seemingly dissimilar fields. A 
further correlation of studies in the curriculum will tend to 
remedy somewhat the last-named fault. It should, however, 
be the peculiar function of general method to call attention 
to the fact of the potential connections between different 
fields, as regards transferrence of training, and to the modes 
of instruction whereby these potential connections are brought 
to consciousness and made to function. 

6. Summary 

Instruction must be based upon the child's equipment, 
both native and acquired. This consists essentially of tenden- 
cies to action, in which individuals differ more or less widely. 



U 



26 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The teacher must induce mterest in the material to be 
taught, by reahiess of problem, interestedness, building upon 
existing interests, and student activity. He must so direct 
the student in his study as to interest him in the best things, 
by leading him to discover in the content of instruction the 
elements which have a real significance to him. 

Without attention, learning would be impossible. Al- 
though passive attention is most effectual for learning, active 
attention is usually a necessary stepping-stone to it in the 
school. 

Learning is largely a matter of either simple association 
or association after dissociation. These are particularly fun- 
damental in habit-forming, memory-forming, discovery, and 
reasoning. 
\ Training acquired in one intellectual field can be trans- 
ferred to another field only in so far as the two fields have 
common elements. Hence, the derivation of concepts should 
be made from a wide variety of cases, the meaning rather 
than the form should be made the basis of connections, and 
the principles or processes should be given a wide variety of 
applications. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Mention several influences of the elementary school environ- 
ment which would produce differences of mental endowment on the 
part of pupils just entering high school. 

2. Are the differences of endowment of the pupil to be viewed as 
advantages or disadvantages? Why? 

3. Some tell us that Hfe abounds in uninteresting but necessary 
things, and that the school's appeal to interest is wrong in that it 
does not train for the actual conditions of life. Criticise the argument. 

4. How would it do to let the pupil select for study just those 
studies and topics that interest him? 

5. The uninteresting but important things of the curriculum 
should be ''made interesting." Analyze and criticise this proposition. 

6. Attention is purely spontaneous, and as such cannot be trained. 
Criticise this argument. 

7. Suggest some student offenses which should be dealt with at 



SOME FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN LEARNING 27 

once, to prevent distraction of attention; some the treatment of which 
should be deferred for the same reason. 

8. Give concrete illustration of how active attention may develop 
into secondary passive attention, as the result of study in the high 
school. 

9. Suggest conditions under which the teacher is wise in resorting 
to insistence on attention. Conditions under which such resort should 
be unnecessary. 

10. What is the type of association involved in the following: 
Learning to spell ? Learning the principal parts of an irregular verb ? 
Learning the principle of the artesian well? Learning the demon- 
stration of a geometrical proposition? Suggest other examples of 
each type of association. 

11. An instructor in zoology, desiring to teach the principle of 
protective coloring, used two illustrations: the striped body of the 
tiger and that of the zebra. Criticise the procedure. 

12. If you were endeavoring to develop patriotism by the teaching 
of the career of Nathan Hale, how would you make sure that the 
patriotism lesson was really learned? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Bolton, "Principles of Education," chap. XXVI. 
De Garmo, ''Interest and Education," chap. VIII. 
Thorndike, ''Principles of Teaching," chap. V. 
Colvin, "The Learning Process," chaps. XVII, XIX. 
Thorndike, "Principles of Teaching," chaps. VIII, IX, XV, ' 
Judd, "Psychology of High School Subjects," chap. XVII. 
Henderson, "Textbook in the Principles of Education," chap. X. 
Colvin, "The Learning Process," chap. XIV. 



CHAPTER III 

AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 
I. Educational Aims 

Aims of Education. — Intelligent procedure presupposes a 
conscious purpose. If unanimity in formulation of its aim 
were an essential in education, the outlook would be most 
disheartening. Modern writers seem to vie with one another 
in their search for a new way of telling us what education is 
and what it should accomplish. 

Yet, despite this seeming disparity in statement, we can- 
not escape the conviction that as regards the qualities of the 
finished product of education there is really no vital disagree- 
ment. The high school graduate who would receive the 
stamp of approval under one standard would be readily ac- 
cepted by the others as educated. Modern thought is in 
virtual agreement in stating the aim of education in social 
terms. We are told that the individual must be socialized, 
that he must be introduced into society, that he must attain 
social efficiency, etc. Moreover, secondary education has a 
distinctive function which elementary education shares only 
incidentally. Society expends its resources and energies upon 
the high school pupil with the idea that he will attain to a 
broader interpretation and function in society than that for 
which the elementary school can prepare. The product of 
secondary education shall be a leader, able and disposed to 
direct and inspire his less favored fellows and to contribute a 
social service to which they cannot attain. He must be 
trained to function in society as a leader in its various activi- 
ties and institutions. As a member of the body politic he 
must understand the institution of the state, and be able and 

28 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 29 

disposed not alone to vote intelligently but to serve the com- 
munity in official capacity when needed. From the economic 
side, he must be not only self-supporting, but able to con- 
tribute to the world's wealth by leading in its production and 
distribution. In all forms of social activity he must be a 
person of broad sympathy, able to correctly interpret and 
evaluate movements for social welfare and to lead in them. 
He must have a real place in the culture of the race, appre- 
ciating and so far as possible contributing to the aesthetic, 
religious, moral, and intellectual possessions of mankind. 
Finally, his power and disposition to think and feel and act 
in these social ways must be so established that they can be 
depended upon to function as occasion demands. 

Aims of Instruction. — Thus education, and in a peculiar 
way and degree secondary education, must aim at social 
intelligence, social disposition, social efficiency, and social 
habit. As instruction is the school's way of securing these 
aims in the individual student, they must have an immediate 
bearing upon the aims of instruction. To be socially intelli- 
gent, one must know his human and his physical environ- 
ment, possessing not only adequate information regarding it 
and appreciation for it, but the intellectual power of thought, 
judgment, and imagination for its interpretation and im- 
provement. The socially disposed individual is the one in 
whom has been developed the feeling for social interests and 
welfare, who has been sensitized to his environment, so that 
it is to him not only a matter of intellect but an object of real 
appeal demanding a response. Social efficiency is the capac- 
ity to bring intelligence and disposition to bear in social 
action, involving initiative, will-power, habit, and skill. So- 
cial habit is that fixity of character which comes from repeated 
social action, and which tends to insure its continuance. It 
is the school's task to develop these qualities through the 
process of instruction. Accordingly, if we would enumerate 
the aims of instruction, the Hst might well include the follow- 
ing: (i) Knowledge of one's self, of one's environment, and 



/ 



30 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

of the relation between the two. (2) Power to think, with 
trained judgment, reason, and imagination. (3) Sympathetic 
feeling toward the environment, in its truth, its beauty, and 
its moral impHcations. (4) Ability for self-expression, in 
word and act, under the guidance of this knowledge and 
thought and the impulse of this feeling. (5) Steadiness and 
permanence of character in thought, feeling, and conduct, 
and the conservation of attainments. 



2. Essentials and Factors of Instruction 

The Essentials of Instruction. — School instruction, in 
order to be adequate, must meet certain requirements; it 
must secure certain results on the part of the pupil. In the 
first place, it must produce knowledge. The student must 
become informed about the ideas that do or should play a 
part in his individual and social experience; with the most 
common and fundamental of these he should become familiar, 
so that he not merely knows about them but knows them, 
and he must know how to deal with all these things intelH- 
gently. 

Secondly, it must train in thought power. The activities 
of life demand the constant interpretation of the things and 
situations encountered. Judgment, reasoning, and imagina- 
tion are the activities that give meaning to the known, and 
extend the real to the realm of the ideal. 

The third requirement is that the development of senti- 
ment shall be provided for.^ Adolescence is a period when 
the boy and girl feel most deeply. Likes and dislikes, admira- 
tion and repulsion, aspiration and disappointment play a large 
part in adolescent development, and the education which 
ignores or misinterprets these impulses is not merely wasteful 
but often negative in its results. 

A fourth requirement is efficiency. Of what use to know 

^ The use of the term "sentiment" where the word "emotion" Is usually 
employed will find its justification in Chapter IX, p. 173. 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 3 1 

much, to feel deeply, when one cannot express and apply 
what is thought and felt? How much is said to-day of the 
student who in the physics class cannot use the simpler for- 
mulas of mathematics, or who with all his knowledge of 
rhetoric and composition cannot write a creditable letter to 
his parents ! Moreover, he should be able to work for and 
with others as well as individually. Individual efficiency 
must be the foundation for social efficiency. 

Fifthly, the results of teaching should be permanent. 
The structures we build are not for a day but for a lifetime, 
and demand lasting foundations and well-built superstruc- 
tures. Herein, present-day results are far from satisfactory. 
The average high school graduate, after five years of non- 
scholastic activity, would experience no little embarrassment 
if suddenly called upon for more than the most fundamental 
facts and processes of his history and mathematics. While 
it is true that not a few of the facts learned in school are in- 
tended merely as a scaffolding in the educational structure, 
and having served their purpose lose much of their value, 
still most of the knowledge and power acquired in study has 
permanent value, and its loss, due in part to poor teaching 
methods, represents a serious waste in the educational 
economy. 

Factors of Method. — An adequate scholastic training, 
therefore, must secure these five results: knowledge, thought 
power, sentimental development, efficiency, and permanency. 
How is this to be accomplished? In terms of pupil and 
teacher, of classroom instruction, what are the forms of 
activity whereby these requirements shall be met? For our 
answer we must look to the student's interests, thoughts, 
and needs, and the forms of activity whereby these can be 
made to function for his educational upbuilding. Conve- 
nience of classification leads us to suggest six such forms or 
phases of the work of instruction, based upon the type of 
student activity involved and the aim sought. Convenience 
of nomenclature leads us to call these the six factors of method, 



32 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

since ultimately the whole teaching process is but a product 
of these sLx and can be resolved into them. 

In the first place, we find the interest of curiosity func- 
tioning in the acquisition of information. The student wishes 
to know facts, even though their immediate value be of little 
or no concern to him. It is nature's means of first introduc- 
ing the world to the child. Obviously, this acquisition is the 
first and most fundamental factor in the learning process, 
and out of it the other factors must follow. The time is not 
very far past when this one activity was considered practi- 
cally the sole element in education, and educational efficiency 
was measured in terms of the amount of information of a 
given sort the student possessed. Examinations consisted of 
questions the answers to which were merely a matter of 
memory, usually of the mechanical sort. It is our purpose 
to-day, in principle at least and increasingly so in practice, 
to recognize that this acquisition factor is but one, though 
an important one, in learning. 

Not merely must the student acquire information, but he 
must follow it up with reflection. When he has found out 
something, he must think about it, investigate its implica- 
tions, and its relations to what he already knows, and give it 
a place in his intellectual world. From the world of the 
known and actual he must by imagination construct the 
realm of the new and ideal. Reflection is that phase of 
knowing in which the interest of mental activity is especially 
prominent. In the well-conducted class exercise no small 
part of the teacher's work is to stimulate to reflective activity, 
in question and answer, comparison, discussion, and a multi- 
tude of other types of activity. Merely encouraging the 
class to remain silent and think is a device too little employed 
for the stimulation of reflection. Yet reflection never takes 
place aimlessly and without a recognized situation which it 
tries to interpret. It is never mere meditation. Simply say- 
ing to the student, ''Now, think ! think !" is useless unless he 
is given something to think, some problem to solve. Reflec- 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 33 

tion starts in a conscious purpose, and, in Dewey's words, 
^'his reflection is aimed at the discovery of facts that will 
serve this purpose. . . . Demand for the solution of a per- 
plexity is the steadying and guiding factor in the entire process 
of reflection.''^ 

The purposiveness of discovering and thinking suggests 
the third stage in the learning process, the stage of expression. 
Not merely does the student like to find out and reflect, but 
his next impulse is to do, to act upon his idea. The wise and 
venerable maxim, ''No impression without expression," is a 
trustworthy witness to the fact that thought which does not 
culminate in action, either immediately or ultimately, has 
but little pedagogic value. The interest of the practical, the 
desire to act upon his impulses and to give expression to his 
ideas and impressions, is one of the strongest forces in the 
adolescent nature, and the teachers who do not utilize it in 
their work will soon find that the ideas and impressions so 
zealously developed fade away for want of exercise. True 
mastery of the formula for the area of a triangle, the French 
equivalent for an English idiom, and the law of the pendulum, 
is effected only by finding the area of a triangle, using the 
French expression, and experimenting with a pendulum. It 
forms the completion of the learning process, which we may 
say consists of the three factors of acquisition, reflection, and 
expression. 

The method factor which is doubtless the most neglected / 
of the group is the appreciation factor. Too widely the im- 
pression prevails that learning only is the work of the school, 
and that the sentimental life of the adolescent is a matter 
with which the teacher has no official concern. Doubtless 
the study of literature is the only conspicuous exception, and 
it is just because literary study cannot be carried on by the 
learning method employed in other fields that it has been 
found so difficult to teach. The interest of the sentimental 
is rather repressed than furthered by the methods of study 
1 Dewey, "How We Think," p. 11. 



34 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

employed in securing knowledge, but demands a type of pro- 
cedure in harmony with its character. 

The four factors already considered are those which func- 
tion in the interpretation of a reaction to new situations. 
The material dealt with is in each case a content as yet unde- 
veloped, or, in the language of the school, is advance work. 
However, the pedagogical requirement of permanence of 
acquisition demands an additional factor, whose material is 
the old and familiar. This factor we shall call drill. As the 
first four factors had a forward movement, we have here 
what might be called a circular movement, wherein the path 
carries us round and round upon the same material over and 
over again. If ancient lineage is a basis for aristocracy in the 
pedagogical world, drill is indeed well born, for one of the 
most striking characteristics of the early educators was the 
thoroughness of their instruction. True, drill has fallen 
rather out of fashion for a time, but a more conservative 
movement has again set in, and the favorite of the earlier days 
is again coming into its own. 

If the three first-named factors of method be said to have 
a forward movement, and the drill a circular movement, we 
might ascribe to our sixth and final factor, testing, a back- 
ward movement. As drill is a reiteration of subject matter 
and processes as they are being developed, testing is a recall 
of the content of earlier study. Its material is the same as 
that of the learning process, but it is for a far different aim. 
The old typewriter with the writing concealed was succeeded 
by the visible writer of to-day because the typist could do her 
work more confidently and accurately when an occasional 
glance at the paper would show what had already been writ- 
ten; so, when the teacher knows how his instruction is suc- 
ceeding, and wherein his work needs correcting and his 
methods revising, his efficiency is correspondingly increased. 
He therefore finds it necessary to test his pupils at suitable 
intervals, to discover to himself (and them) whether they are 
making the progress they should make, and wherein to alter 
the method of procedure. 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 35 

Thus we have analyzed the student activity, as controlled 
by the teacher, into six forms which we take to be the six 
factors of method: acquisition, reflection, expression, appre- 
ciation, drill, and test. In the succeeding chapters the inter- 
pretation of the teaching process will be, either impHcitly or 
explicitly, in terms of these. 

3. Importance and Character of the Lesson Aim 

Teacher's Aim. — Probably the chief characteristic of pro- 
gressive method and the one which gives it its superiority 
over mechanism in teaching is its consciousness of an aim 
which permeates every phase of its activity. The teacher 
who goes into the classroom without a definite purpose which 
the class exercise is to realize will at the close of the hour look 
back upon a series of disconnected, ineffectual efforts. The 
pupil who, during the class exercise, has no consciousness of 
what it all means and whither it leads will take no vital inter- 
est in his work. For both teacher and pupil, the work of 
such an hour has degenerated into drudgery. 

A definite aim on the part of the teacher, a consciousness 
of the ^'why," is essential to both the *'what" and the ''how" 
of his work. In his organization of subject matter for the 
lesson he can by a process of selection and rejection, of em- 
phasis and subordination, construct a consistent and orderly 
plan in which each element contributes its part to the devel- 
opment of the thought. The distractions due to irrelevant 
matter, suggested by his own imagination, by outside sources, 
or by the class, can be eliminated. When the purpose de- 
mands something not already at hand, some of those seem- 
ingly unimportant side lights which contribute so much 
toward making a suitable stage-setting, the need is at once 
brought to consciousness and its object supplied or impro- 
vised. Further, his method of procedure will be varied to 
meet best the need of the class exercise. The teacher who at 
each step of his procedure has in mind the function of that 
step is able to carry out that purpose better because it is done 



36 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

intelligently, not imitatively, and accordingly he can adapt 
the developments of the classroom, both anticipated and 
unanticipated, to the realization of his aim. Moreover, the 
teacher's own mood of confidence is furthered by a conscious 
purpose, and this mood is one of the chief qualities of leader- 
ship. 

Student's Aim. — The advantages for the student of a 
conscious and definite aim in his lesson have been stated by 
Rein^ as essentially the following: (i) Definiteness of purpose 
assists the pupil to turn his thought from irrelevant interests 
and to concentrate his attention upon the business in hand. 

(2) It creates in the student's mind a situation which is in- 
telligible and real to him, and to which he readily reacts. 

(3) It arouses the mood of expectancy. (4) It insures a 
community of interest between pupil and teacher, thus en- 
listing the attitude of co-operative student activity. The im- 
portance of this intelligent participation and co-operation of 
the student in the class exercise cannot be overemphasized, 
for without it teaching sinks to the level of ''school-keeping," 
and learning becomes mere mechanical memorizing. 

Character of Aim. — The teacher's statement to his class 
of the aim of the class exercise for the day receives much 
attention in Herbartian literature. Naturally the ideal 
method is for the student to encounter a need in his study or 
class discussion, to come to realize that need as one worthy 
of his attention, and to formulate it as a task for the class to 
help him master. In such a case, the teacher usually assists 
by directing the student to the discovery of the need and 
assisting him to a good formulation of it. Even primary 
pupils can be led to feel a considerable degree of purposive- 
ness in the lessons assigned them, and to respond to an appeal 
for co-operation. In a much broader way and to a far greater 
degree, the same response is attainable in secondary educa- 
tion. In the first place, the aim is of a kind to appeal more 
strongly to the advanced student, since it is to a greater 
1 Rein, "Padagogik in Systematischer Darstellung," II, p. 509. 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION . 37 

degree a matter of knowledge and feeling, rather than skill, 
whose value is more indirect and remote. Moreover, even 
when the elements of drill and testing are introduced, the 
older student is more willing to work for these ends, since the 
remoter value has more appeal to him than to a younger 
child. It is natural, therefore, that the more advanced the 
grade of work, the more the teacher's aim and the student's 
aim should tend to coincide, and the more naturally and com- 
pletely the aim of the lesson can be developed rather than 
told to the class by the instructor. 

The chief essential is that so far as possible the aim develop 
naturally, rather than be manufactured artificially, and that 
it be a real need appreciated and responded to by the student. 
Whether first formulated as a statement by the teacher, a 
question addressed to the class, or a problem raised by the 
class, is of less concern, so long as it is of a character to arouse 
the activity of the student. Indeed, the zest of the unex- 
pected may occasionally be utilized by suggesting at the 
beginning of the class exercise a problem which is but a kind 
of anticipation, opening up into the real problem as the les- 
son proceeds. Adams gives an illustration of such.^ ^'In- 
stead of starting straightway with the subject of the differ- 
ence between the development of the Feudal System in Eng- 
land and in France, the problem might be suggested: Why 
are there hedgerows in England and not in France? In an- 
swering this interesting question all the essential points of 
difference emerge, and the incentive of a well-defined purpose 
is maintained throughout the lesson." 

A lesson aim always involves two terms, the subject mat- 
ter and the teaching activity that corresponds to it. When a 
rule is memorized, a problem solved, a poem studied, or skill 
in a process secured, there is first the content, whether rule or 
problem or poem or process, and second the method factor or 
factors whereby the content is rendered educative for the 
student. With the content of the rule for the transposed 
^ Adams, "Exposition and Illustration," p. 182. 



38 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

word order in German go the acquisition, the expression, and 
the drill. The study of stream erosion or of the Bunker Hill 
Oration involves the acquisition, the reflection, and the other 
method factors which the teacher may choose to employ. 
Thus, the aim of a lesson is secured by the adaptation of 
process to content. But the subject matter of the high school 
curriculum is far from simple. Almost every lesson aim is 
attained through the realization of subordinate aims. Prac- 
tically every process is a complex one, involving several minor 
processes. It follows naturally that minor processes, each 
with its own particular end, may serve as phases of the 
realization of a single principal aim, the aim of the lesson or 
the series of lessons. For example, in the appreciation of a 
selection of poetry, this principal aim of the appreciation may 
best be gained by the realization of several of the factors of 
method, such as the acquisition of the facts of the poet's life 
and of the setting of the poem, the appreciation of a word 
picture, and the drill in the memorizing of passages of special 
interest. These principal and subordinate aims correspond 
to what are, by the Herbartians, called the Ziele and the 
Zwischenziele (aims and intermediate aims). Naturally these 
terms are in a measure relative, since what may be a principal 
aim for a smaller lesson unit may at the same time be a sub- 
ordinate aim in the realization of some still larger and more 
inclusive principal aim. However, in the practical work of 
teaching, the subject matter usually cleaves readily into sec- 
tions, each of which possesses a distinctness of aim, content, 
and method such that it can be treated as a unit in teaching. 
Such a section of content, or teaching unit, need not coincide 
with the lesson of one class period. Not infrequently a topic 
will be so large as to occupy two or even more lesson hours, 
while on the other hand there may be more than one such unit 
dealt with in a single lesson. In the determination of the size 
and character of this teaching unit, both subject matter and 
teaching method must be considered. However, the usual 
condition and the one best adapted to instruction, especially 
in secondary education, is the coincidence of the topic or 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 39 

teaching unit with the lesson for the hour, since the unity 
and perspective are thus better preserved and utilized. 

4. The Five Modes of Instruction 

Lesson Types. — Text-books on method often leave the 
pedagogical novice with the notion that there are certain 
sharply defined *^ types" or ^'kinds'' of lessons which serve 
as moulds, in one of which every lesson must be cast and to 
which it must be made to conform. The truth which the 
teacher must early come to realize is that with differences of 
content and of aim come corresponding differences of method. 
He must further realize that the method in each case is not a 
mere haphazard, cut-and-try procedure, but a system of 
activities so selected and combined as best to realize the aim 
of the lesson. The number of possible lesson procedures as 
combinations of various forms or modes of teaching activity 
is unlimited. On the other hand, the number of these teach- 
ing modes, like the variety of muscular movements in our 
daily tasks, is decidedly limited. Moreover, efficiency in 
teaching, as elsewhere, is most readily secured when the num- 
ber of component modes of activity is minimal for the realiza- 
tion of the end sought. Taking account of both subject 
matter and lesson aims, with the dominant factors of method 
involved, we find five such fairly well-defined modes or types 
of teaching, under which all the activities of the class exer- 
cise may be classed, and of which it is built up. Occasion- 
ally a single mode is dominant throughout the entire class 
exercise. More often several modes are employed in suc- 
cession, and even overlap. 

The Modes. — These five modes, which are to form the 
basis for the succeeding chapters, are the following: 

1. The Recitation Mode. 

2. The Problematic Mode, 

3. The Appreciation Mode. y 

4. The Expression-Application Mode, 

5. The Laboratory Mode, 



40 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Any one of the modes may of itself constitute an entire 
class exercise, though not always to advantage, the laboratory 
being the one most commonly employed in this way. Prob- 
ably the arrangement most often used outside of the study of 
literature is that in which the first part of the hour is devoted 
to recitation, followed by and often combined with prob- 
lematic development and closing with application. The ap- 
preciation mode is most frequently employed in literary 
study, in various combinations with one or more of the 
modes just named. In the application of these five modes 
of teaching the teacher must not look for ready-made for- 
mulas whereby the modes can be compounded in set arrange- 
ments and proportions, for the realization of certain definitely 
anticipated and classified aims. On the contrary, these are 
but the variously colored pigments which the artist-teacher is 
to select, blend, adapt, and apply for the carrying out of a 
design of which he himself must be the master. In the prep- 
aration of his colors he must know the laws of color mixture, 
and which components are the best to employ for the produc- 
tion of certain effects. His skill consists not in ignoring but 
in utilizing these laws and principles in the production of the 
finished work. In the study of the various modes of teaching 
the instructor must seek so to master them that the very 
fixity and definiteness of their qualities do not restrict him 
but serve him. 

The Formal Steps. — The Herbartians have always laid 
great emphasis upon what are termed the ''formal steps" of 
instruction. We are told that the teaching unit or "method 
whole" is inductive in character and leads us from particular 
observation and data to a general concept or concepts. In 
this procedure five well-defined steps must be followed, after 
the lesson aim has first been stated. Although differently 
named by different writers, there is no considerable disagree- 
ment as to their character, and the names suggested by Rein 
are the most commonly used, especially in the United States: 
viz., Preparation, Presentation, Comparison, Generalization, 



AIMS IN INSTRUCTION 4I 

and Application. As Rein^ points out, these steps are appli- 
cable only when it is the purpose to develop a general con- 
cept, inductively. While it is true that induction does in- 
volve these elements, it is also true that as the American 
secondary school is taught, not ail lessons are inductive, and 
that the ''steps" are elements, often used simultaneously, 
rather than successive stages of thought. While the educa- 
tional world is under untold obligation to the Herbartians for 
the systematization given to method of instruction by these 
"formal steps," we must be on our guard lest its systematic 
character become for us merely formal. In Professor Dewey's 
words ^: "The more the teacher has reflected upon pupils' 
probable intellectual response to a topic from the various 
standpoints indicated by the five formal steps, the more he 
will be prepared to conduct the recitation in a flexible and 
free way, and yet not let the subject go to pieces and the 
pupils' attention drift in all directions; the less necessary will 
he find it, in order to preserve a semblance of intellectual 
order, to follow some one uniform scheme. He will be ready 
to take advantage of any sign of vital response that shows 
itself from any direction." On the other hand, we may 
often find the "steps" of real suggestive value in the organiza- 
tion of the lessons, especially those of an inductive character, 
the consideration of which will occupy us in a later chapter. 

5. Summary 

School education should secure for the student &ve quali- 
ties: knowledge of self, of environment, and of their mutual 
relation; power of thought; S5anpathetic feeling toward envi- 
ronment; power to express and apply; steadiness of character 
and permanence of attainments. Instruction which is adapted 
to the realization of this fivefold aim may be thought of as 
consisting of six elements or method factors: acquisition, as 

^Reln, "Padagoglk in Systematischer Darstellung," II, p. 542. 
2 Dewey, "How We Think/' p. 205. 



42 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the securing of information; reflection, as its interpretation; 
expression, as the giving out of received experiences; appre- 
ciation, as the feeling response to situations; drill, as the ren- 
dering permanent of experiences; and testing, as the insuring 
of results sought. 

A conscious, definite aim facilitates instruction by giving 
the teacher a basis for selection of both content and method. 
For the student it renders the work significant and induces 
an attitude of co-operation and interest. In secondary educa- 
tion especially, the maturity of the students tends to secure 
identity of aim on the part of teacher and class. Such aim, 
with its subordinate aims, determines the processes of in- 
struction as well as the size and content of the lesson. 

In the realization of the lesson aim, instruction may be 
viewed under five modes, which are variously combined in 
the method of instruction for different lessons: viz.. Recita- 
tion, Problematic, Appreciation, Expression-Application, and 
Laboratory. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Criticise the list of instruction aims suggested. Would you add 
self-reliance to the list? politeness? honesty? 

2. Of the five instruction aims, which do you think is the most 
neglected? the most often emphasized? 

3. What lesson aims would you suggest for lessons on the following 
topics: the battle of Waterloo? the proposition that the diagonals 
of a parallelogram bisect each other? the first declension in Latin? 
the making of a bookcase? the frosting of a cake? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Bagley, ''The Educative Process," chap. III. 
Henderson, "Textbook in the Principles of Education," chap. I. 
Strayer, ''Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap. I. 
Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. V. 
Suzzallo's article on "Types of Teaching," in Monroe's "Cyclopedia 
of Education." 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CLASS EXERCISE 

I . Meaning 

Fonns of School Work. — The school work of the typical 
high school student is by no means wholly devoid of variety. 
Recitation and home study, laboratory, field excursion, and 
Hbrary study, each has its place in his schedule of work, and 
happy is that student who is able to recognize and realize that 
place in his educational progress. Indeed, if he fails in the 
attempt and does not see the relation of part to part and to 
the whole learning process, he can find not a few fellow unfor- 
tunates among his teachers v/ho assign him these activities 
with but little better knowledge of their purpose. In thor- 
oughly efiScient and well-organized teachiag, every form of 
student exercise has a definite function in the whole plan, 
each part having its direct bearing, well defined and clearly 
recognized, upon some other phase or phases of school work. 
T3^ical forms of student exercise in school instruction are 
the formal classroom exercise or "recitation,^' the field excur- 
sion, the laboratory exercise, the hbrary study, and the stu- 
dent's individual lesson preparation, ranging all the way from 
the first-named highly social and teacher-controlled proce- 
dure to the distinctively individual and self-controlled home 
study. 

The Class Exercise and the Recitation. — The better books 
on teaching deplore the use of the term "recitation" as com- 
monly employed, since it naturally suggests a "reciting," 
phonograph-like, of material memorized by the student. The 
term is a survival of the days when the aim of education was 
conceived of as information, and the teacher's work consisted 

43 



44 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

in hearing lessons '' recited." Unfortunately, the use of the 
term has, by force of suggestion, induced the untrained 
teacher to suppose that the work of teaching is, as the word 
implies, a hearing of "recitations," whereas the efforts of 
educators to-day is to lay more emphasis on thinking and 
doing, though the recitation element is not to be wholly 
eliminated. In order to negate this implication in the mind 
of the prospective teacher, we shall, in our study of the prin- 
ciples of instruction, employ the term ''Class Exercise"^ for 
the more common and formal type of class work which is con- 
ducted in the classroom, and reserve the name ''recitation" 
for that form of activity to which it is strictly applicable. 
Leaving the other types of class work for a subsequent chap- 
ter, we will here devote the greater part of our attention to a 
consideration of the class exercise, its forms, aims, methods, 
and essentials. 

Significance of the Class Exercise. — The educational work 
of the school centres about the class exercise. Because it is 
the chief point of application of the educational process it 
must take account of practically every phase of that process. 
Professor Dewey calls it "a social clearing-house where experi- 
ences and ideas are exchanged and subjected to criticism, 
where misconceptions are corrected, and new lines of thought 
and inquiry are set up."^ It is there that the teacher under- 
takes most definitely and formally the direction of the stu- 
dent's thought, there the experience of the student is brought 
to consciousness and expression, and made to serve in the 
gaining of further experience. Not the least of the values of 
the class exercise is its social value. Every member of the 
class is called upon to contribute his share in the activity of 
the group, and in return receives his share in its benefit. 
Better perhaps than in the home circle he comes to appreciate 

^ The term "Class Conference," suggested by Professor Twiss, seems 
to us too narrow in its suggestion. C/. Monroe, "Principles of Secondary 
Education," p. 460. 

2 Dewey, "School and Society," p. 65. 



THE CLASS EXERCISE 45 

the significance of social helpfulness and to participate in its 
realization. 

2. Personality in the Class Exercise 

Individual and Social Aspects of the Class Exercise.— The 
old disposition to base educational method upon subject mat- 
ter alone, combined with the newer demand for universal 
education, must be held largely responsible for the tendency 
to overlook the claim of personality and individual differ- 
ences. ''Mass teaching" and the "lock step in education'' 
have become common objects of criticism among educational 
reformers, but the actual reformation is by no means ac- 
complished. The "average student" is an imaginary, non- 
existent being, and of the "typical student" we can speak 
with but little better aptness, for the number of "types" of 
student is limited only by the number of bases for classifica- 
tion. Nevertheless, social, economic, and intellectual con- 
siderations demand that young people shall be educated in 
groups rather than individually. Upon the teacher devolves 
the problem of determining just how individuality can be 
recognized and how group instruction can be employed with- 
out the two being reciprocally negative in action. Correct 
method is that which employs the group instruction as a 
means for the development of personality. For the accom- 
plishment of this, the teacher must at the first opportunity 
study his pupils, and as the work advances watch the devel- 
opment of each member of his class, encouraging here and 
restraining there, appealing to one from one point of view, to 
another from a different one. The skilful teacher will be 
ever on the watch for individual capacities and traits which 
can, by proper treatment, be converted into trained talents, 
realizing that human progress is the result of the selection and 
development of individual variations. Nor may we neglect 
the shortcomings of those pupils whose cases demand special 
assistance and are often remediable. More frequent than 



46 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

either are pupils who are neither superior nor inferior but 
simply ''different," and whose cases call for specially adapted 
procedure. Method must never be interpreted as a cast-iron 
form into which student and study are to be forced and 
fitted. In the diversified curriculum of the high school some 
provision is made for individual variations of interest and 
capacity. In those studies in which the feeling element pre- 
dominates this is especially true, since in response to emo- 
tional situations the greatest diversity occurs. Often, too, 
the appeal of a laboratory science has sufficed to hold a boy 
in school when all other agencies seemed futile. 

Personality in Teaching.— In an earlier chapter (page 4) 
reference was made to the importance of the preservation of 
the personality on the part of the teacher, and the statement 
was made that this was dependent on his use of method. 
The teacher who falls into a routine of method, varying it but 
little, will soon cease to be a person (pedagogically speaking) 
and become a machine. Method and personality in teaching 
are not antagonists but allies, and the common foe of both is 
mechanism. One of the worst foes to the development of 
the teacher's personaHty is his tendency to depend upon the 
text-book for the organization and interpretation of the les- 
son, instead of formulating his own aim and organizing the 
available material accordingly. Personality must be pre- 
served and exigencies in the class exercise must be met, but 
preservation of personality and meeting of exigencies really 
mean the making of even the unexpected serve toward the 
reaHzation of the aim in view. But the preservation of per- 
sonality and the obtrusion of individuahty are not synony- 
mous. To direct the newly fledged teacher, face to face with 
his first class, ''Be natural !" would be a comedy were it not 
too often a tragedy, for he is confronting the most unnatural 
situation of his life. A characteristic of good teaching is 
that the individuahty of the teacher is kept in the background, 
and anything that draws the attention of the student to the 
instructor is as a rule to be avoided. A frequent source of 



THE CLASS EXERCISE 47 

distraction is the ^'schoolroom voice." Many a teacher whose 
conversational tones are smooth and musical assumes in 
teaching a harsh, high-pitched voice which is fatiguing to 
himself and nerve- wearing to his pupils. *'Be yourself" is 
adequate advice only when interpreted as meaning "be your 
best self." Mannerisms of speech, of bearing, or of personal 
habit are usually distracting elements, and the teacher must 
study himself (better still, ask a competent friend to be a 
critic) in order to find out these unconscious obstacles to suc- 
cessful teaching. When we realize the force of imitation and 
suggestion, conscious or otherwise, in the relation of teacher 
to pupil, the importance of personality in teaching is yet more 
deeply impressed upon us. 

3. The Atmosphere of the Class Exercise 

Mood. — Attention has of late been directed by writers on 
school hygiene to the lighting, heating, and ventilation of the 
school building, and it seems a justifiable figure of speech to 
refer to the light, the warmth, and the movement in the in- 
tellectual atmosphere as well. By light we mean the spirit 
of cheerfulness which should prevail in all phases of school 
work. More influential than we ordinarily realize is the mood 
that prevails during the instruction, and, as this is true in 
learning, it is peculiarly true in appreciation work. The 
appeal of many a picture is enhanced or detracted from by 
its frame, and every schoolboy knows that he has found many 
a task the easier to do because of the spirit which prevailed 
in the doing of it. An army can march farther when it is 
singing and the band is playing; a class can learn better when 
in a cheerful mood. Not all students can be made to feel 
"It is good for us to be here," but it is possible to induce a 
considerable degree of good humor in work, and in the accom- 
plishment of this there is no force as potent as contagion. 
At the beginning of a lesson hour, the class usually represents 
a variety of moods, but the absence of any dominant mood 



48 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

and the attitude of expectancy are the teacher's opportunity. 
Accordingly, his mood can quickly and easily be made to 
pervade the class. Some one has said that the grouchy 
teacher should be quarantined, because he is suffering from a 
highly contagious disease. Why not express the thought pos- 
itively by saying that the cheerful teacher is the illumination 
of the classroom, and of a sort of which there is no danger of 
excess ? Carrying the figure further, this light not only radi- 
ates from the teacher but it reflects from the class, increasing 
in power with no fear of violating any law of the conservation 
of energy. 

Spirit of Work. — Closely associated with illumination goes 
temperature. As in the new open-air schools, the pupils are 
warmed by vigorous physical exercise, so the warmth of the 
intellectual atmosphere of the classroom must be generated 
by the activity of the pupils and teacher. The adolescent 
loves to work, though he hates drudgery. Fanned by a real 
vital interest in the work of the hour, the spirit of the class 
can be raised to a veritable "glow." The teacher who comes 
into the classroom ''on fire" with interest in his work and 
his message, not of explosive fireworks variety, but full of 
the zeal of a well-controlled but deep interest in his work 
and his students, will easily incite a similar response on 
the part of his class, and the intellectual warmth of the 
classroom will be assured. 

4. The Classroom Activity 

Importance of Activity. — The character ascribed to the 
class exercise earlier in the chapter is one that naturally im- 
plies activity, in which all members of the class have a part. 
The student has a part in the class exercise only as far as his 
activity extends. Receptivity alone is of practically no edu- 
cational value. Only by doing can the student learn. How- 
ever, this must not be interpreted as physical movement. 
Often the greatest intellectual activity is carried on silently 



THE CLASS EXERCISE 49 

and without bodily action.^ As a rule, however, the best 
type of activity is that in which mind and body both partici- 
pate, each assisting the other in its task. The interest that 
attaches to work in which both mind and body are at work 
together upon the same problem is undoubtedly the strongest 
kind to which instruction can appeal. It follows that, as a 
rule, a greater degree of vitality in teaching results when the 
instructor stands at his work; a seated position usually tends 
toward a loss of vigor in instruction, and a consequent in- 
activity on the part of the class. 

Use of Blackboard. — The usual arrangement of black- 
board work in German schools is on the whole inferior to that 
in common use in America, in that it does not make as good 
provision for class activity. In the former case there is 
usually but a single blackboard, upon which one or possibly 
two students do all the blackboard work of the class at any 
one time. The American plan, whereby half or all of the 
students are working at the board simultaneously, provides 
for better distribution of the physical activity to accompany 
the mental. With us this factor of blackboard work per- 
forms a large function in the teaching of any subject wherein 
suitable simultaneous exercises are involved. Both students 
and teacher may to excellent advantage make more use of 
the blackboard for summaries, drawings, etc., than is usually 
done. While it is not uncommon for teachers to utilize the 
board in exposition, it is unfortunate that they so often feel 
handicapped by inability to draw. The ability on the part 
of both teacher and pupil to make drawings in class work is 
of inestimable value, and the ability to make serviceahlerones, 
at least with a very little practice, is much more general than 
is commonly imagined, and should be encouraged and devel- 
oped. The advantages of board work over seat work are' 
two: it makes it possible for material to be observed and 
studied by the entire class, and it facilitates the supervision 

1 A suggestive illustration of this is given by De Garmo in his " Interest 
and Education," p. 204. 



50 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

and assistance of several students working simultaneously. 
Its administrative difficulties and the limited practical value 
of blackboard skill outside of the school forbid its employ- 
ment by students except for these two purposes. 

Variety in Procedure. — Just as the newness of a country 
keeps the explorer alert and mentally active, so the element 
of variety and the unexpected serves a real purpose in render- 
ing instruction interesting and lively. Not infrequently it is 
worth while to vary from the order of the text-book for the 
sole purpose of arousing the mood of expectancy, and thereby 
interest and attention. Adams^ has called attention to the 
use of surprise as a thought stimulant in deepening the im- 
pression made by ideas which might otherwise be overlooked. 

Distribution of Activity. — ^A point of technic which de- 
mands care on the part of the teacher is the distribution of 
the activity of the class. It is so much easier to do an intel- 
lectual task than to get it done by others that the teacher 
easily falls into the habit of doing the students' thinking for 
them. Moreover, not merely must the student be active 
but he must be the source of the activity. *'One might as 
well say he has sold when no one has bought, as to say that 
he has taught when no one has learned. And in the educa- 
tional transaction, the initiative lies with the learner even 
more than in commerce it lies with the buyer. If an indi- 
vidual can learn to think only in the sense of learning to 
employ more economically and effectively powers he already 
possesses, even more truly one can teach others to think only 
in the sense of appealing to and fostering powers already 
active in them."^ Power of initiative is a product of this 
student activity, wherein the pupil is trained to feel the force 
of the problem, to recognize that it is a problem, and to realize 
that the power for its solution lies within himself. For the 
same reason, it is often better to call upon the class for a 
judgment as to the merit of a pupil's recitation or report than 
for the teacher himself to at once pronounce upon it, provided 

^ Adams, "Exposition and Illustration," pp. 214 Jf. 
2 Dewey, "How We Think," pp. 29-30. 



THE CLASS EXERCISE 5 1 

always that the spirit of the criticism be one of justice rather 
than of faultfinding. Thus initiative and self-reliance are 
among the aims, possibly are the chief aims, of the class exer- 
cise. The benefits of self-government in school administra- 
tion are no greater than the corresponding benefits of initia- 
tive and self-reliance in thought. 

Almost as bad as doing the student's work for him is a 
failure to secure a distribution of activity among the various 
members of the class. The ideal to be sought is equality of 
participation on the part of all the students, but the ideal is 
especially difficult to realize because of the great difference 
in ability as well as in temperament between the various 
pupils. Only by the most careful attention to the matter 
can the teacher attain even approximately to that ideal, but 
the importance of the result demands and justifies the effort. 
When the glow of interest is present and the movement is 
strong and rapid, only the greatest care will avail to prevent 
the slower or more indifferent pupils from being left out. 
Right here comes in the difficulty in determining the line 
where the spontaneity in response and distribution of activity 
shall mutually limit each other. Indeed, such a line cannot 
be fixed, but the teacher must determine it largely by experi- 
ence, for the quick and the slow make a hard team to drive. 
The use of concert recitation carries with it the problem of 
distribution of activity, and with any but a small class it 
demands the most careful attention to make sure that all the 
students are really having a part. It is so easy for pupils to 
lag, even a fraction of a second, long enough for the brighter 
or better prepared student to speak the word, and they thus 
merely quote rather than recite. When the class is small 
and interest general, and the practice infrequent, it may 
serve the purpose of securing simultaneous activity for a 
number of students, but the inexperienced teacher should use 
it very sparingly. 

Equality of participation is to be measured in terms not 
of time but of activity, and some pupils will participate more 
in twenty minutes of the class period than others will in 



52 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

forty. Considerations of efficiency as well as fairness, there- 
fore, argue against the retention of all the members of the 
class throughout the whole of every class exercise. There is 
no valid reason why the quick pupil who has already accom- 
plished the result sought by the instruction should be required 
to wait as an impatient observer of his slower fellow students' 
efforts. Rather, he should be permitted quietly to occupy 
himself profitably with other work, either for the remainder 
of the hour or until in the course of the instruction his further 
participation is called for. While the leaving of the class- 
room during the hour is often inexpedient, the capable stu- 
dent can be trained to develop sufficient concentration of 
attention for independent study in his seat or at the rear of 
the room. Since the personnel of the quicker group is fairly 
definite and permanent, the seating arrangement of the class 
may provide for the location of this group at the rear or side 
of the room, where they can readily be disregarded in the 
instruction without change of seats. 

Preparedness. — The bell announcing the close of the class 
period comes with disconcerting quickness to the young 
teacher in the midst of an interesting lesson. The plan he 
had hoped to carry through has experienced unexpected de- 
lays in realization. The unexpected is liable to happen with 
the best of instruction, but care on the teacher's part will 
often help to solve the problem by prevention of waste. 
Doubtless one of the greatest sources of delay is in the dis- 
tractions that come into the class exercise. Possible difficul- 
ties must be anticipated and provided against. In science 
instruction, it is essential that the apparatus may be depended 
upon to work when it is wanted, with all adjustments made 
and materials at hand before the hour begins. Sources in 
literature and history, compasses and rulers in geometry, 
should be ready for use when needed. A two-minute inter- 
ruption may cost five minutes of loss, owing to break in con- 
tinuity in thought, and the activity of the class suffers ac- 
cordingly. 



THE CLASS EXERCISE 53 

Tempo. — Successful teaching must take account not 
merely of the What and the How but also the How Much, or 
more accurately the How Fast. The matter of the "tempo" 
in the class exercise is one which demands consideration, espe- 
cially in American high schools, where the spirit of the school, 
like that of the nation, is one of hurry under pressure. There 
are times when the tempo of the class exercise should be com- 
paratively high, in such work as drill and testing, and to a 
considerable degree in mathematics. In such studies as litera- 
ture, where appreciation is the predominant factor, a rapid 
tempo would be destructive of the finer feelings which the 
lesson aims to arouse. Naturally, in material prepared for 
the day, especially where memory plays a prominent part, a 
more rapid tempo is usually called for. On the whole, the 
greater the degree of thought or feeling, the slower the tempo, 
while the process of application or drill calls for a more rapid 
movement, and an implication of this is that in general the 
tempo is slower in upper classes than in lower. As Professor 
Miinch^ has pointed out, the true aim is an inner tempo, 
determined in part by the character of the thought, in part 
by the personaHty of the pupils and teacher. Mere hurry 
does not mean a high tempo, but probably even the oppo- 
site. One of the chief tasks of the teacher, therefore, is to 
choose and regulate the pace with which the class exercise 
proceeds, holding in check the impetuous and prodding the 
laggard. It is here that setting a time limit upon work serves 
the double purpose of preventing dawdling and suggesting 
to the student a suitable tempo for intellectual activity. 

5. Summary 

The term '^ class exercise" is more suitable for the typical 
classroom instruction than the word "recitation," since it is 
more suggestive of thought and action rather than mere re- 
citing. 

^ Miinch, "Geist des Lehramts," pp. 408-409. 



54 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

In the class exercise, provision must be made for the 
exercise and development of the personality of both pupil 
and teacher. However, distracting mannerisms and pecu- 
liarities must be avoided. 

The best results are possible only when the mood of both 
teacher and class is cheerful, and the glow of enthusiasm per- 
vades the work. 

Provision must be made for the most general and well- 
distributed activity on the part of the class, with all distract- 
ing influences provided against, and with a tempo in harmony 
with the character of the instruction. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Some one has suggested the elimination of the formal class 
exercise, and the substitution of a kind of work-room plan, whereby 
each pupil studies independently and recites and receives instruction 
and advice as the progress of his study demands. What are the ad- 
vantages and disadvantages of such a plan? 

2. Some able persons refuse to enter the teaching profession be- 
cause, they say, it destroys the personality of the teacher. How 
would you answer their claim.? 

3. Some parents prefer private tutors to public schools, claiming 
that the latter ''level down" as well as "level up," and that they pre- 
vent the development of pupils' personality. Criticise their argument. 

4. When before the class exercise the teacher finds himself sufifering 
from a "grouch," should he dismiss his class? If not, what alternative 
is open to him ? 

5. Is it possible for pupils to experience the "glow" of interest 
when the instruction is really meaningless and gets nowhere? 

6. When half of the class in geometry or Latin are working at the 
board, how may the remainder of the class be kept profitably active? 

7. Are tempo and speed of progress coincident? Justify your 
answer. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

De Garmo, "Interest and Education," chap. X. 



CHAPTER V 
THE QUESTION 

I. Its Function 

As employed by the teacher in the class exercise, the 
question may have a function quite different from that in 
the ordinary situations of life. Usually its purpose is the 
securing of information possessed by the person addressed 
but not by the questioner. The instructor, however, gen- 
erally knows the answer to his question much more ade- 
quately than the student, and in such a case his aim is to 
bring to the student's mind a consciousness of an intellectual 
need. ''Why should President Jackson's simplicity of man- 
ner of life occasion so much comment on the part of his con- 
temporaries?" ''Is there not a simpler and better method 
of factoring this expression than the method you have em- 
ployed?'' A question such as these leads the student to 
realize that the information involved or fact sought is not 
yet clearly mastered by him, but needs further reflection, 
observation, or memorizing. Its value, therefore, lies pri- 
marily in its stimulating effect upon the pupil, inciting him 
to more adequately master the situation confronting him, 
and perhaps suggesting to him a line of thought for doing so. 
In addition, it may serve the teacher as a means for testing 
the pupil's knowledge, as a basis for further instruction. 
"What did we decide yesterday was the cause of the mean- 
dering of rivers in level country?" The situation may not 
be one in which knowledge is the chief factor or even an 
important one. Rather one of the best uses of the question 
is to induce an emotional attitude, by thus calKng attention 
to some phase of an appreciation-situation. "Why do you 
think the opening lines of 'Evangeline' so impressive?" 

55 



56 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Moreover, grammatically it may not take the form of a ques- 
tion at all, though functioning as one. Many an excellent 
and typical question in the class exercise is followed not by 
an interrogation point but by a period. *'If we increase the 
weight of the bob on this pendulum, we might perhaps expect 
it to affect the rate of vibration.'* As the term is thus used, 
it is obvious that the question plays a large part in the work 
of instruction, and its character and forms are more vital 
than the inexperienced teacher might at first suppose. 

2. Kinds of Questions 

Classifications. — The chief aim of the question, as we 
have seen, is to provoke mental activity on the part of the 
student, and occasionally to test his knowledge and attitude. 
For the accomplishing of these purposes, questions are of 
various t>pes, each adapted in form to the particular type of 
thought or reaction which it seeks to secure. Professor Char- 
ters^ recognizes but three kinds of questions in teaching — the 
information, the developing, and the test. De Garmo^ sug- 
gests four types, the analytical, the developmental, the re- 
view, and the examination. We are indebted to Professor 
Stevens,^ of Columbia University Teachers College, for a 
classification which with some modifications we shall follow 
in the present chapter. 

The Memory Question is doubtless the simplest of the 
types, calling for merely a recital by the student of facts 
already stored in memory, and in the recital calling for but 
the lowest type and degree of thought. The memory de- 
manded may be mere verbal or rote memory, which is but 
little better than mechanical ; or it may be logical memory, in 
which the qualities of the thing remembered are, by associa- 
tion, made the basis for its retention. In either case the 

^ Charters, "Methods of Teaching," p. 300. 
2 De Garmo, "Interest and Education," p. 180. 
' Stevens, unpublished lectures. 



THE QUESTION 57 

aim is almost solely informational. "In what year did the 
battle of Saratoga occur?'' and *'What was the occasion of 
Webster's second Bunker Hill oration?" are illustrations of 
memory questions. 

The Analytic Question is, as the name implies, used in 
analyzing a unit of thought, showing its implications and its 
relation to other known facts. The analysis may serve the 
purpose of showing the instructor whether the student's con- 
cepts are correct and adequate, and thus offering opportunity 
for a needed reconstruction. For example: "What is the 
locus of all points in a plane equidistant from a point without 
the plane?" "Why do cyclones in the northern hemisphere 
have a counter-clockwise direction of rotation?" 

The Development Question, while probably the most 
diflicult to define, ranks high in value as a means of instruc- 
tion. Its chief characteristic is its anticipatory character, 
for it aims to lead on the student from point to point, from 
the implied and related, and ever for the sake of attaining 
some goal of which the teacher is constantly conscious. A 
feature true in a measure of all types of question, but espe- 
cially of the development question, is that it is seldom to be 
taken singly but as one of a series or sequence. The devel- 
opment process is necessarily a step-by-step procedure, em- 
plo)dng often a considerable number of intermediate terms 
and thought movements in passing from the original thought 
material to the end sought. Accordingly, each question but 
serves the purpose of developing these steps, one after the 
other, under the guidance of the instructor. A series of 
questions whereby the teacher leads his pupils from the 
(known) method of multiplying a polynomial by a monomial 
to the (unknown) method of multipl5dng a polynomial by a 
polynomial would serve as an illustration from the field of 
mathematics. Another example, taken from physical geog- 
raphy, might be the procedure, by questioning, from the stu- 
dent's knowledge of the principles of erosion to the concept 
of the delta or estuary. 



58 PRnsrciPLES of teaching 

The Comparison-Contrast type of question is one in 
which two objects of thought are simultaneously studied in 
order that the characteristics of the one may serve to the 
better study of the other. The comparison question is of 
service in showing points of resemblance between the things 
studied, thus providing data for generalizations, whereas the 
contrast question has the peculiar function of accenting char- 
acteristic features of an object of thought by viewing it simul- 
taneously with one or more other objects which, like it in 
many points, are conspicuously different in the point in ques- 
tion. It follows that the number of situations in which these 
questions can be used is somewhat Hmited. Things com- 
pared or contrasted must be markedly similar in vital points, 
with only one or, at most, very few features of strong differ- 
ence. In all cases, the basis of comparison or contrast should 
be made clear in the question. Thus, to secure a generaliza- 
tion regarding the literary character of the romanticism of 
the nineteenth century, it might be of profit to compare the 
writings of Coleridge and Wordsworth, whereas a deeper im- 
pression of Wordsworth's tendency toward the mysterious in 
the interpretation of the common things of life is well secured 
by contrastmg his writings with those of Coleridge, in which 
the opposite tendency prevails. 

The Judgment Question is a type which is peculiarly ap- 
propriate in secondary instruction, since it demands a stage 
of mental development to which the high school student has 
attained to a far greater degree than the pupil in the grammar 
grades. The act of judging involves a weighing of values 
and a viewing of things in perspective. The personal factor 
plays a large part here, for the judgment question makes a 
direct appeal to the pupil's personal attitude toward things. 
By its means he may be led to see that the most important 
consideration in life is not knowledge but one's reaction to 
that knowledge. It thus furnishes one of the best means 
for the development of the ethical and aesthetic ideals, and 
thus forms the basis for the training of moral character and 



THE QUESTION 59 

of aesthetic appreciation. The following are examples of the 
judgment question. ''Would it be better to solve this equa- 
tion by comparison or by substitution?" ''What do you 
think was Shakespeare's purpose in introducing the sleep- 
walking scene in 'Macbeth'?" "Was John Brown morally 
justified in his attempt to incite an uprising of the slaves?" 

Pedagogic Relationship of the Types. — In our classifica- 
tion of questions according to the purpose which each is to 
serve, it is but natural that a single question should serve 
more than one purpose, and that the classes should accord- 
ingly overlap. A question whose immediate aim is analysis 
or comparison may at the same time serve as a member in 
a development series. The line of differentiation between 
comparison and judgment questions is obviously not a sharp 
one. To the thoughtful teacher, however, the recognition of 
the various aims in questioning may be of inestimable value 
in his use of this the most common instrument in classroom 
instruction. 

Any positive statement regarding the relative value of 
the various types of questions would be hard to make. Nat- 
urally the memory question would rank lowest in the list, 
since it involves the least intellectual activity. The judg- 
ment question, on the other hand, demands a high level of 
thought, and is to a considerable degree a climax to the 
thinking of the other types. Accordingly it has a somewhat 
limited opportunity of application, though its great educative 
value justifies a far more extended use than it now receives. 
Of the other three, viz., the analytic, the development, and 
the comparison-contrast, the value is so great and the appli- 
cation so general that these three are probably the most ser- 
viceable and the most used in instruction. 

3. The ESSENTL4LS OF Good Questioning 

At the beginning of the present chapter we saw that the 
purpose of questioning is to make the student conscious of an 



6o PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

intellectual need, to lead him to feel the challenge of a prob- 
lem, and to suggest the way in which to look for the solution. 
On the teacher's part, it serves the further purpose of testing 
the knowledge and the point of view of the student. It is 
obvious that questioning is good in proportion as it leads 
toward the realization of any or all of these aims, and the 
following suggestions may help the teacher in that direction. 

1. The Question Should, as a Rule, be Thought-Provok- 
ing. — This does not mean that memory questions should 
never be asked, but that they should be decidedly in the 
minority, and that when introduced they should if possible 
be but leaders to thought questions. Close following of the 
text-book is necessarily detrimental to good questioning, since 
the student has no obligation to think out his answer, but is 
encouraged to rely upon the memory of what he learned in 
preparing his lesson. In much the same way, the adherence 
to arbitrary classifications, arrangement, or names suggested 
by the teacher himself is open to a similar criticism, since it 
encourages the substitution of formulas of words for the 
product of the student's own thought. If the teacher will 
rethink his subject matter, and in some measure at least 
reconstruct it, using new avenues of approach to the princi- 
ples and new illustrations of them, and encourage his pupils 
to do the same, the thought factor will become much more 
prominent and beneficial, as well as interesting. 

2. The Question Must Be Clear. — This is involved in the 
aim of questioning as such, in that thought can be provoked 
only in an attempt to meet a felt need, and a situation which 
has no definite problem or meaning can produce nothing 
worthier than bewilderment. The use of a question so 
framed or propounded that any of the student's attention is 
diverted from the answering of the question to the form of 
the question itself is not merely wasteful but disconcerting. 
It is essential that the teacher imagine himself in the pupil's 
place, and endeavor to see whether the question would then 
mean to him just what is intended by it. The question must 



THE QUESTION 6 1 

first be clear in language, using words and expressions the 
meaning of which is known to the student. Sentences should 
be so constructed that the antecedent of the pronoun will be 
unmistakable. A prime essential is that the teacher think 
clearly, since not a little of the obscurity of questions is but 
the reflection of obscurity of thought. However, most of the 
lack of clearness in questioning is doubtless due to incom- 
pleteness of statement, either as lack of words or as indefinite- 
ness of expression. The teacher often fails to realize that 
much of the meaning of expressions is inferred from the con- 
text, and that the pupiFs mental background is not the same 
as his own. As a rule, the form of question should be such 
that but one line of answering is open. *' Compare the 
triangles ABC and DEF" is not definite, since the question 
does not specify the basis for comparison. Better, *Xom- 
pare the triangles ABC and DEF as to area." The ques- 
tion, *'What happens when sulphur and iron filings are 
heated in a test tube?" needs further qualification; e. g., 
"Describe the chemical reaction that occurs when sulphur 
and iron fihngs are heated in a test tube." The direction, 
"Give a classification of rocks," may be obeyed by clas- 
sifying them according to either color, structure, weight, 
chemical composition, or method of formation. "What did 
Charlemagne do when he became king?" may be correctly 
answered in any of a dozen ways. The mere fact that a 
poorly formulated question has elicited the desired answer is 
no vindication of the form of the question. On the con- 
trary, its seeming effectiveness will tend to lead the pupil to 
believe that slovenliness in speech is no disgrace so long as it 
secures the desired result. 

3. The Question Should Be Brief. — As a rule, a question 
is selective in that it specifies one particular feature of a situ- 
ation and raises the problem regarding that feature, the 
other features being mentioned merely by way of specifying 
the situation. It follows, therefore, that the best question is 
one that touches merely the problematic element, with a 



62 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

minimum of other data necessary for the defmiteness of the 
problem itself. The following problem will serve as an il- 
lustration: *'A certain freight train travels at the rate of 
twenty miles per hour westward from Boston. An express 
train, starting over the same route thirty minutes behind the 
freight train, travels at the rate of fifty miles per hour. How 
far from Boston will the express overtake the freight?" In 
this case all details of the situation are first specified except 
the one referred to in the last sentence. Here the brevity of 
the question is secured by the isolation of the problematic 
element to form the question, the situation having already 
been stated. The problem might have been stated thus: *'If 
an express train, travelling westward from Boston at a rate 
of fifty miles per hour, is preceded by a freight train travelling 
twenty miles per hour, how far from Boston will the freight 
be overtaken by the express if it starts thirty minutes ahead 
of the express?'' The superiority of the first statement is 
obvious, since the situation is put clearly to the student before 
its problematic factor is introduced, thus leaving the question 
direct and brief. Thus: "If at the battle of Saratoga Bur- 
goyne had defeated the Americans, and after pushing his 
way to the southward had efiected a junction with British 
naval forces sent up the Hudson, what would probably have 
been the effect upon the American cause, with the colonial 
territory thus cut in two?" A better statement would be 
the following: ''Let us suppose that Burgoyne had been vic- 
torious at Saratoga; that he had pushed his way to the south- 
ward, and had effected a junction with British naval forces 
sent up the Hudson. Evidently the colonial territory would 
thereby be cut in two. What effect would this probably 
have had upon the American cause?" The oft-given advice, 
''Make your question brief," means to the teacher merely 
this: First state the situation fully and clearly. Then isolate 
the one problematic factor, and indicate it in a question as 
briefly as possible. Introduce but one problematic factor at 
a time, avoiding the use of double questions, such as "How 



THE QUESTION 6$ 

would you generate carbon monoxide in the laboratory and 
what precautions must be observed in the process?" "How 
do you account for the case of homine in this sentence, and 
why would not mro have been a better word to use?" The 
observance of the suggestions just made will assist the teacher 
in making questions both brief and clear at the same time, 
for brevity and clarity should be allies rather than antago- 
nists. 

4. The Question Must Be Adapted to the Student. — This 
includes adaptation to his age, interests, disposition, previous 
study, and experience. He should not be asked to form judg- 
ments when his experience is too narrow to provide the basis 
for the judgment. Reflection upon a topic which has no 
interest to him will necessarily be merely formal. A question 
that is so simple that the student feels annoyance at its pet- 
tiness or its very elementary character has no educational 
value. In other words, the question must be a real ques- 
tion for the person to whom it is addressed. Moreover, the 
state of mind of students varies widely at different times. 
Personal feeling, difficulty of content, or any of a dozen 
causes may occasion a condition of antagonism, overconfi- 
dence, indifference, or the like, which a well-chosen question 
will greatly help. 

4. The Manner of Questioning 

It is not enough to have good tools, but they must be well 
used. Good questions are most effectual only when the 
manner in which they are put is well chosen, and the inexperi- 
enced teacher may find the following suggestions of value. 

I. Address questions to the class as a whole, give time for 
the answer to be formulated, and then call upon one to answer 
as spokesman for the class, insisting upon a ready answer. 
This means that every student will formulate an answer to 
each question that is asked, and will be ready and disposed 
to judge of the merit of the answer given by the student who 



64 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

answers for the class. When we realize that the chief aim of 
the question is the stimulation of thought, it can readily be 
seen that where every student is thus actively answering 
every question, the activity of the class is fully distributed 
and the benefit of answering is gained by every student, even 
though the pupil called upon has the extra benefit of the ex- 
pression of his thought. Even though this often involves a 
slower rate of questioning, the economy is great since each 
question benefits all instead of a few or possibly only one of 
the class. Indeed, the judgment constantly passed by the 
class upon the answer given, since based upon their own 
thought, is of no little value, and serves in a measure as a 
counter-criticism upon the answers they themselves had for- 
mulated though not expressed. It is evident that the prac- 
tice of calling the name of the student before stating the 
question is as clear a violation of this principle as could be 
devised, although a mistake of which teachers are very often 
guilty. 

2. From this naturally follows a second injunction. Dis- 
tribute the questions, as far as possible, among all the mem- 
bers of the class. This must, of course, be in an order which 
seems to the class to be haphazard. Calling on students in 
alphabetical order, in the order of the seating, or in any 
arrangement whereby they can anticipate which one will be 
called upon next will, of course, result in the others assuming 
an attitude of unconcern, and much of the benefit of the 
work will be lost to them, if not to the one who answers the 
question. 

In the distribution of questions in the class exercise, it is 
not sufiicient nor is it always wise to address the same num- 
ber or kind to each student. There should be an adaptation 
of question to student, and the variation between students is 
usually great. Since the greatest gain comes from activity 
in which the fullest power of the individual is exercised, it 
follows that the question put to the bright pupil should be of 
a different sort from that put to the dull student. This does 



THE QUESTION 65 

not mean that the bright pupil should have the hard question 
and the dull one the easy question, though this will not infre- 
quently follow. It means rather that each question shall be 
so formulated that it will stimulate to his best thought that 
student to whom it is addressed. The case of the slow stu- 
dent is more puzzling. Slowness does not necessarily imply 
dulness, and if given time the slow student will often pro- 
duce a fine piece of work. Practically all that can be sug- 
gested here is that he too exert serious effort and be con- 
stantly kept at his best speed. However, his '^best speed" 
is never possible when he is hurried to the point of bewilder- 
ment, but must be determined empirically, in the course of 
the teacher's observation. 

But other considerations besides the abilities of the stu- 
dents determine the distribution of the questions. The 
teacher must study each of his pupils and so far as possible 
adapt the questions to meet special needs. As one of the 
aims of questioning is the discovery of inaccuracy or inade- 
quacy in the student's concept or memory image, the teacher 
should endeavor to place his question where it is probably 
most needed. The student who half knows his lesson can 
best be brought to a consciousness of his shortcomings by an 
unsuccessful attempt to answer questions about it. A natural 
implication of this is the wisdom of putting the question to 
the student who failed upon it before, possibly at the preced- 
ing class exercise, thus providing an added incentive for mas- 
tering the points in his lesson upon which he has shown him- 
self to be deficient. Often, too, the bright and faithful stu- 
dent can, by a well-chosen question, be started on a train of 
thought which has a special appeal for his personal interests 
and ability, and which will provide him a thought problem 
for further consideration outside of class. The question thus 
serves as a thought stimulant and clarifier, and the careful 
teacher will place the question where it will be of most ser- 
vice. The device of addressing a question to a pupil who is 
inattentive at the moment it is stated is frequently of service 



66 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

in compelling attention, especially if his consequent confusion 
be utilized to render inattention unprofitable. At the same 
time the teacher should employ the opportunity to find out 
the cause for the inattention, especially if the case is at all 
chronic. Inability to hear the teacher, disorder on the part 
of neighbors, failure to see the meaning of the lesson, lack of 
interest — any or all of these might be the cause of the inat- 
tention, and an understanding of the situation would assist 
in its solution. It must be remembered that inattention is 
but the symptom, not the disease, and the teacher who can 
adequately diagnose the case in its first stages has progressed 
far toward its cure. 

Should a question be repeated if not understood the first 
time ? Naturally it depends upon the cause of the failure to 
understand. If it be due to inattention, it is evident that a 
repetition of the question usually amounts to a toleration of 
inattention, and is seldom wise. If the cause be a lack of 
clearness in the question itself, it should be reconstructed. 
If the difficulty lay in the indistinctness of the teacher's enun- 
ciation, not merely should it be repeated with greater care, 
but it should suggest to the teacher the possibility that on 
other occasions also his spoken words may not be under- 
stood, though the difficulty had not been reported by the 
class. On the other hand, the failure to understand may be 
due merely to the thought character of the question itself, 
being properly formulated but requiring time for the realiza- 
tion of its significance as it is spoken. In such case, a de- 
liberate repetition in its original form would usually be less 
confusing than its restatement in other words. 

3. A third suggestion of the manner of questioning is that 
the teacher ask the question as though he himself is really 
interested in its answer. Mood is the most contagious thing 
in the schoolroom, and the teacher who is able to so throw 
his personality into his questions that his class will recognize 
his interest will have made an excellent beginning toward 
interesting instruction. 



THE QUESTION 67 



5. The Question as an Index of Efficiency in Teaching 

In a monograph which bears the same title as this para- 
graph^ a very suggestive effort is made to show that the 
character and quality of classroom instruction can with com- 
parative accuracy be discovered by a study of the character 
of the questioning. Two points of observation are suggested: 
how many questions and how good questions. With the lat- 
ter of these, the quality of the question, we have already 
dealt. 

The number of questions is taken as a partial indicator of 
the distribution of activity between teacher and class. In 
the monograph the author. Professor Stevens, made a study 
of a number of typical class exercises observed in various 
high schools and found that the number of questions asked 
by the teacher ranged from about 40 to 175 or 200, during a 
forty-five-minute class hour, the average being between 75 
and 100. Taking account of the pupils' answers as well, and 
basing the calculation upon the time occupied in questioning, 
it was discovered that the teacher used about two-thirds of 
the lesson hour with questioning, exposition, etc., and that 
the pupils occupied but half that amount. In other words, 
the teacher used twice as much time as his class did, and 
presumably did two-thirds of the work. Moreover, it showed 
that on an average the teacher asks and the class answers 
one question every thirty seconds. Such distribution and 
haste in teaching are practically destructive of thought and 
reflection on the part of the student. Naturally the number 
of questions and the distribution of time between teacher and 
class vary greatly according to conditions, such as the subject 
studied and the aim of the class exercise, but the teacher may 
well guard against too long-continued *' rapid-fire" question- 
ing, as well as against occupying an undue proportion of 
the lesson hour. 

^ Stevens, "The Question as an Index of Efficiency in Teaching." 



68 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 



6. The Answer 



Essentials of the Good Answer. — As the purpose of the 
question was shown to be the stimulation of thought, the 
primary purpose of the answer is the expression of that 
thought, with its critique and suggested ideas. It has also 
as a secondary aim the disclosure to the teacher of the stu- 
dent's thought, and the offering of opportunity for the im- 
provement of that thought and its expression. The good an- 
swer is one that serves these purposes. 

In the first place, the answer must be adequate. It must, 
for the student at least, be "the truth, the whole truth, and 
nothing but the truth." The algebra student who, when 
asked to find the area of a field, closes his work with ^'x = 36, 
Ans.," has not adequately answered the question. He has 
merely brought his work to the point where the answer might 
be easily inferred, but left the inference itself for the instructor 
to draw. He has not told the "whole truth." When the 
pupil stated that in the flexion of the elbow- joint the biceps 
muscle grows smaller, he has given an inadequate answer. 
The pupil who was asked to decline a noun in the singular 
and declined it in both numbers, gave an inadequate answer. 
Both these two violated the principle "Nothing but the 
truth." When a student realizes that he will be held ac- 
countable for an exact and complete answer to the question, 
he will study the question carefully in order to catch the 
full significance of the problem. 

A second requirement of the good answer is that it shall 
be matured. The teacher who accepts an answer which does 
not represent the student's best thought is encouraging care- 
less thinking. In contrast to a common attitude among stu- 
dents that the answer is merely to satisfy the teacher, and 
that whatever thus satisfies is all that is called for, the stu- 
dent must be led to take his answer seriously. The teacher 
should develop the student's self-criticism, so that he will be 



THE QUESTION 69 

dissatisfied with any effort which does not represent him at 
his best. The pupil who replies before he has thought the 
problem through must be restrained until he is prepared to 
give a well-matured answer. This can often be done by 
showing him the absurdity or inconsistency of his hasty 
replies, and by holding him to strict account for all that he 
says. If, as should be the case, the answer is addressed to 
the class as a whole, the members of the class will add their 
disapproval to that of the teacher when one of their number 
seems to be careless in his words addressed to them. On the 
other hand, this personal responsibility for the answers to 
questions should not be permitted to lead to undue hesitancy 
in answering. The pupil whose reply to a question is itself 
a question or a guess with a rising inflection of the voice 
should not hope thereby to escape responsibility for its 
accuracy. The answer should be his own thought or belief, 
not that of the teacher, and if he is prompted in answering, 
the purpose of the question is thwarted. Not infrequently 
this prompting is merely a nod of the head, a change of facial 
expression, or even a gesture, of which the teacher is quite 
unconscious, and against which he must be constantly on his 
guard. 

This suggestibility of students, especially the younger 
ones, may easily extend to their making statements quite con- 
trary to their knowledge and judgment. Boys and girls, 
recognizing the superior knowledge of the teacher, will give 
assent to almost anything, if it seems to be what the teacher 
expects them to say. Such answering involves the suspen- 
sion of their own judgment in the presence of a higher author- 
ity, which is thus accepted without challenge or thought 
concerning its implications. One of the values of the topical 
recitation is that this suggestion factor in questioning is elimi- 
nated. 

The Topical Recitation. — As one of the chief purposes of 
the answer is the expression of thought, the topical recitation 
is of especial value because of the training it offers in thought 



70 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

expression. When the class exercise takes the form of a 
mere series of questions, the task of organizing thought, which 
is one of the greatest benefits of educational training, is taken 
over by the teacher, to the great loss of the child. As a test 
of the evaluation and perspective in knowledge, of power to 
analyze thought, and of ability to express ideas in language, 
the topical recitation has a value immensely superior to that 
of brief one-sentence answers. Unfortunately, the develop- 
ment of powxr to give such an independent and connected 
recitation is usually difficult to secure. The teacher must 
first show the student how to select the important points of 
a topic, how to arrange them in logical order, and how to 
transform the ideas into well-chosen language. Often a dis- 
cussion with the class in which these three steps are worked 
through in order will prove the best method of preparing the 
foundation for a subsequent topical recitation. The process 
may at first appear long and laborious, but the cost is small 
compared with the importance of training young people to 
discourse connectedly and creditably upon topics with which 
they are familiar. The efforts made by so many of our high 
school students when trying to speak in public upon even 
the simplest themes are at best disheartening, and the correc- 
tion of the difficulty is as truly a task for the teacher of physics 
or of history as for the English department. 

Adequacy of Expression. — The importance of adequate 
expression holds no less of the brief answer as well. The 
answer should be given in a form worthy of the thought 
which it represents. The carelessly worded, poorly articu- 
lated replies so common in the schoolroom are negative fac- 
tors in education as far as training in oral expression is con- 
cerned. The bad habit on the part of teachers of repeating 
the students' answers, often correcting errors of speech, is a 
prolific source of carelessness in recitation, since the students 
soon come to feel that however badly they frame their an- 
swers or enunciate their words, the teacher will supply the 
deficiency in the amended repetition. If the student is made 



THE QUESTION . 7 1 

to feel that he is addressing the class, not the teacher, and 
classes are trained to demand the student's serious efforts in 
addressing them, the occasion for repetition will soon dis- 
appear. Every answer must be a real statement of a thought 
rather than merely an abbreviated skeleton or intimation of 
that thought. While "yes or no answers" are not necessarily 
to be avoided, they should nearly always be followed up with 
a call for the grounds upon which the affirmation or negation 
rests. The demand that every answer shall be a complete 
grammatical sentence, while usually wise, may, however, be 
carried to the degree of pedantry. Forms of conversation 
which are proper in cultured society are proper in the school- 
room — these and no others. When student and teacher catch 
the spirit of culture in the conversation of the class exercise, 
problems of propriety in student answers will be appreciably 
fewer. 

"As the teacher, so the school." As the question, so the 
answer. The progressive and conscientious teacher will see 
in the pupil's answer an index of the question asked. Poorly 
expressed answers raise the presumption that the questions 
were poorly expressed. Obscurity in answers suggests a cor- 
responding fault in the questions. Fortunate the teacher 
who is able to use his class as a mirror for his own failures 
and successes. 

7. The Pupil's Question 

"Questioning by the teacher that does not lead to the 
asking of questions by pupils is unsatisfactory. "^ The best 
incentive to learning is the consciousness and challenge of a 
problem, and one of the best places for its suggestion and 
formulation, often of its solution, is the class exercise. The 
question asked by the pupil is one in which he has a real 
interest, and the teacher who instead of propounding a prob- 
lem can induce the student to raise that problem, even though 
in a less logical form, has come near to realization of the aim 
* Strayer, ''Brief Course in the Teaching Process," p. 120. 



72 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

in questioning; viz., the stimulation of thought. In the same 
way the teacher's reply to the question may well be itself a 
question, whereby he will suggest to the student not the an- 
swer but the direction in which it may be sought. In the 
solution the co-operation of the entire class should, so far as 
possible, be enlisted, thus making it a general rather than an 
individual problem. For data upon which to base the solu- 
tion all sources should be employed as needed. Chief of 
these are the direct observation of the facts, the experience 
of the various members of the class, the text-book, and, as a 
last resort, the teacher himself. However, in his enthusiasm 
over the class problem, the teacher must not permit himself 
to be deceived by the ingenious lad who finds the asking of 
time-killing questions easier than the answering of relevant 
ones asked by the teacher. A definite consciousness of aim, 
a Httle study of the personality of his pupils, and a class sen- 
timent in favor of seriousness of work will suffice to prevent 
serious dissipation of energy or ^'side-tracking" in the class 
exercise. 

8. Summary 

The functions of the question in instruction are the stimu- 
lation and the testing of mental activity. 

Questions are of five types: memory, analytic, develop- 
ment, comparison-contrast, and judgment. 

Questions should be thought-provoking, clear, brief, and 
adapted to the student. 

They should be addressed to the class instead of to indi- 
viduals, should be so distributed among students as to secure 
general response, and should manifest a real interest. 

An excessive number of questions tends toward a wrong 
distribution of activity between teacher and class. 

Answers should be adequate, well matured, and well ex- 
pressed. The topical recitation is of value in the training of 
the student to organize and to express his ideas. 

The pupil's question should show the teacher the needs of 



THE QUESTION 73 

his class, and should be made the starting-point for further 
learning. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What high school studies offer peculiar opportunity for the use 
of the memory question? the analytic question? the judgment ques- 
tion? 

2. Criticise the following questions: 

(a) Why do we use mercury in thermometers? 

(6) What does our text-book give as the date for the assassina- 
tion of Lincoln? 

{c) Which is the more important: political liberty or religious 
hberty? Why? 

3. Recast the following question in a better form: If, after cut- 
ting a wide channel across the plain, a stream should, at flood season, 
cut across from one bend to the next, what would become of the lagoon 
thus formed when the stream subsided? 

4. From the standpoint of questioning, what are the objections to 
classes of forty or more pupils? 

5. Is it unwise to address a series of successive questions to a single 
student? Justify your answer. 

6. How would you deal with the pupil who, though inattentive, is 
skilful in "bluffing" when he does not know what question was asked 
him? 

7. Suggest ways in which students can be induced to ask questions 
in the class exercise. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap, XI. 

Keith, "Elementary Education," §38. 

De Garmo, "Interest and Education," chap. XIV. 

Colvin, "An Introduction to High School Teaching," chap. XV. 

Stevens, "The Question as an Index of Efficiency in Teaching." 



CHAPTER VI 

THE RECITATION MODE 
I. Meaning of Recitation 

In an earlier chapter our attention was called to the un- 
fortunate use of the term "recitation" to designate any form 
of class exercise, laboratory work excepted, and the conse- 
quent influence toward making the class exercise degenerate 
into a mere "reciting" of acquired information. However, 
the inexperienced high school teacher, in endeavoring to 
escape this pedagogical error, often falls into the opposite 
one of lecturing to his class, doing the reciting vicariously for 
his pupils. Recitation on the part of the student is not nec- 
essarily bad. Like the other modes of teaching, it has its 
appropriate place and its proper manner, and within the 
limits of these it plays a necessary part which no other mode 
can fill. Discarding any thought of it as a mechanical repeti- 
tion by the student of memorized facts or phrases, the recita- 
tion is taken as the rethinking in the class exercise of the 
experience of the student, acquired as a set exercise pre\dously 
assigned by the teacher. In this, the class and teacher, as 
an environment for the rethinking, contribute to render the 
exercise more beneficial to the pupil who recites, and in no 
small degree to the pupil who listens and even to the in- 
structor. The function of the recitation mode falls primarily 
under the two method factors of testing and drill, since these 
two are the ones that deal explicitly with material previously 
studied by the pupil. The recitation has also a forward look, 
since in the organic unity of a well-organized course every 
fact, every process, is anticipatory of a broader fact or process 
to follow it and extend its application. 

74 



THE RECITATION MODE 75 



2. The Recitation as Testing 

Purpose. — The aim of the testing activity in the recitation 
mode is essentially that of insuring progress, for the teacher 
must assure himself that the class is really accomplishing the 
work undertaken. The testing accomplishes this purpose in 
five ways. In the first place, it determines the faithfulness of 
the student's preparation of the lesson assigned for the day. 
Some one has said that the ideal in education is that condi- 
tion where every pupil in the class prepares his lessons just as 
well without as with the incentive of the teacher's authority. 
To this we reply that such students are not yet to be found in 
the schools, if indeed anywhere. We have yet to hear of the 
person, old or young, who does not find some measure of 
compulsion necessary in order to impel him to the maximum 
of his capacity. Most certainly the high school student with 
his limited perspective and his lack of training needs some 
compulsion in his work. In the testing of the recitation step, 
the opportunity for the exercise of this compulsion is pro- 
vided. Secondly, it determines the adequacy of the student's 
preparation, thereby enabling the teacher to begin his in- 
struction at the point where his pupils have left off. To 
attempt to lay the bricks of the superstructure before the 
foundation is fully completed is to "build in the air." To 
determine the character of that foundation and the conse- 
quent possibilities, limitations, and requirements of the super- 
structure is one of the first duties of the teacher. Thirdly, 
the testing enables the teacher to determine the adequacy of 
the instruction. Many a teacher flatters himself that his 
pupils have followed him in his exposition and development, 
whereas an inadequate or fallacious concept of the meaning 
of a term, a misinterpretation of a statement, an unusual 
background of personal experience, or even a wandering 
imagination may have resulted in the student's arriving at 
concepts and conclusions surprisingly different from those in- 



76 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

tended by the teacher and even actually false. To discover 
to the teacher this situation so that he may vary his method 
of teaching to meet better the student's need is one of the 
chief functions of the testing activity. The fourth way in 
which progress is insured by the testing phase of the recita- 
tion is that it enables the teacher to test the appropriateness 
of the material being taught. Even the most experienced 
instructor often discovers that material which he has em- 
ployed successfully for years is not adapted to the class 
before him, and the necessity for constant selection and 
adaptation is even greater for the inexperienced teacher. 
Other opportunities for observation ofTer themselves to the 
teacher, such as the laboratory and the responses of the stu- 
dent in the development of new work. However, the prop- 
erly conducted recitation provides the best opportunity for 
the testing in a broad, thorough, and helpful way. Finally, 
the testing element in the recitation provides opportunity for 
explanation and correction. With the best of teachers and 
the most faithful of students, some things will be found 
obscure, some misunderstood. Attempts to proceed before 
these situations are met and the difficulties cleared up would 
be worse than useless, and it is peculiarly the recitation whose 
function it is to insure progress by insuring an adequate basis 
for progress. 

Thus we have seen that the testing factor in the recitation 
has a fivefold purpose: insuring the faithfulness and the ade- 
quacy of the pupil's preparation, determining the adequacy 
of the instruction and the appropriateness of the content, and 
finally providing opportunity for explanation and correction. 
Good testing is that which best accomplishes these five pur- 
poses, either singly or, as is usually the case, several of them 
simultaneously. 

Lesson Preparation. — Has the student prepared his lesson 
faithfully ? If not, it may be a matter not of discipline alone, 
but of environment or method as well. In taking him to 
task the teacher must discover how much of the delinquency 



THE RECITATION MODE 77 

is really the result of negligence and how much is due to con- 
ditions for which the student is only in part responsible. 
From the standpoint of the student's responsibility, a lesson 
may be considered faithfully prepared when he has either 
accomplished the task assigned or has conscientiously at- 
tempted to do so to the best of his abiHty, due account being 
taken of other obligations within or without the school, of 
other legitimate interests, intellectual or physical. The 
teacher who finds his class as a whole or an individual student 
habitually failing to give the lesson sufficient study may usu- 
ally look for the cause in excessive or indefinite assignment, 
lack of interest, or conflicting duties or interests, and should 
endeavor to meet each cause with its appropriate remedy. 
This is the point where the domains of instruction and disci- 
pline meet, and the latter is often called into the immediate 
service of the former. 

What shall the teacher do when he finds his class inade- 
quately prepared? Every lesson plan presupposes a certain 
fairly definite degree of preparation and knowledge as its 
starting-point, and one of the most disconcerting situations 
for the inexperienced teacher is that in which he finds that 
the preparation of his students, their "apperceptive mass," 
is lacking and his first step checked. It is here that resource- 
fulness and adaptability, as well as the ability to foresee and 
prepare for possible contingencies, prove valuable assets. 
Before the teacher in the class exercise can proceed with the 
development and study of new material he must test his 
class by way of determining the adequacy of the foundation 
for his structure. For the purpose of the development of new 
material out of it, a lesson is adequately prepared when its 
fundamental principles involved are clear in the minds of the 
class, including a general notion of the implications of those 
principles. It may not mean that all of the details of the 
application have actually been carried out, for not infre- 
quently it may take the new lesson to accomplish this. The 
second scene of the play may be taken up even though the 



78 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

class has not yet completed the interpretation of certain de- 
tails in the first scene as assigned for the day, provided the 
plan and movement of the first scene are sufficiently well 
understood to render the study of the second scene possible. 
The class is often able to attack the demonstration of a new 
problem in geometry, even though the applications and even 
certain points in the demonstration of the preceding problem 
need further study before being left. Of course, the teacher 
should not attempt it until assured that the basis for the new 
material is either already possessed or can readily be suppHed 
as needed. Nor does it mean the abandonment of the unfin- 
ished work, but its completion alongside of the new, usually 
after more individual study out of class. The teacher must 
not in his haste to get on leave undone the work that is to be 
done. *'I think you understand that well enough, and we 
must hurry on," is too often an excuse for slighting the work 
in order to cover a specified amount of ground during the 
school term. 

But lesson preparation sufficient to render possible the 
development of new material does not necessarily mean that 
the lesson has been satisfactorily learned from all other points 
as well. Aside from its purely propaedeutic function, when 
is a lesson learned? How shall we establish a standard 
whereby to judge whether an assigned task has been prop- 
erly performed? Investigation^ has shown a striking dis- 
crepancy in the grading of examination papers in high school 
subjects at the hands of different teachers of those subjects, 
thus indicating that standards of evaluation are far from 
absolute. The personal factor in the determination of ade- 
quacy of lesson preparation can never be wholly eliminated. 
It may seem tautology to say that a lesson is adequately 
prepared when the aim for which it was assigned has been 
realized. However, no more adequate standard can be estab- 
lished. The chief reason for the varying evaluations of a 
piece of work is the diversity of its aims, or even the indefi- 
1 Starch, "Educational Measurements," chap. II. 



THE RECITATION MODE 79 

niteness of its aim in the instructor's mind. If the aim is 
memorizing, the lesson is learned when the pupil has it so 
well committed that he will retain it and be able to recall it 
when desired. If the aim is skill in the application of princi- 
ples, lesson preparation means that the exercises assigned 
have made to that skill the contribution for which they were 
intended. If the aim is appreciation, the preparation of the 
lesson is adequate when the pupil has experienced the emo- 
tional response for which the lesson was designed. No more 
ultimate principle is possible than the one just suggested, and 
for lesson preparation the teacher should accept no less, 
demand no more, than its fulfilment. 

Ideally, every student will adequately prepare his entire 
lesson every day. Practically even an approximation to this 
is by no means easy to secure, even for the experienced 
teacher, while to the beginner the problem of enforcing faith- 
fulness in study on the part of the less industrious pupil is 
one of the most serious which he has to encounter. In the 
long run, the only solution to the problem is a combination of 
thought-provoking, interesting lesson-assignment with con- 
stant, patient insistence and watchfulness. Teaching the 
class how to attack their lessons, supervising their study, and 
rendering needed assistance and encouragement will often 
prove of unexpected benefit. A carefully planned written 
test during the first five minutes of the lesson hour, demand- 
ing brief and ready answers involving familiarity with the 
lesson, is a stimulant often resorted to by inexperienced 
teachers, with a degree of success. Like all stimulants, how- 
ever, its effect is temporary, and it should be seldom used, 
and as soon as possible should be displaced by the more 
healthful incentive of duty and ultimately by that of interest. 

Partly as a device for enforcing the preparation and still 
more in order that the teacher may know the needs of the 
class, it is a good practice to require that all students who for 
any reason have not fully prepared the lesson for the day 
report the fact before the beginning of the class exercise, 



8o PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

under penalty of severe reproof if the course of the hour dis- 
closes an unreported lack of preparation. This plan serves a 
threefold purpose. It provides an opportunity to excuse 
justifiable shortcomings, and saves the student the embarrass- 
ment of failures and perhaps unmerited reproof during the 
class exercise. It enables the teacher to know at the begin- 
ning of the hour just what to expect from every member of 
the class. It discourages the negligent pupil from hoping to 
escape detection of his neglect. The so-called '' mathematical 
report cards''^ whereupon the student reports at the begin- 
ning of each class as to the numbers of the problems solved, 
those unsuccessfully attempted, and those not tried, is one 
method of employing this general device. 

The Oral Quiz. — Much more helpful than the written test 
is the oral quiz at the beginning of the hour. While it shares 
with the written test the task of enforcing preparation, it 
combines therewith four other equally vital functions. In 
the first place, it provides opportunity for directing the stu- 
dent's attention to secondary points and implications which 
otherwise would have escaped him, largely because his lim- 
ited experience offers no point of contact between these and 
his already known world. In psychological terms, the con- 
nection between the new and the old is too remote for apper- 
ception to take place. After his study of ''The Vision of Sir 
Launfal,'' he may need a little skilful questioning to lead him 
to see the significance of the ''mouldy crust of coarse brown 
bread,'' and of the "water out of a wooden bowl." 

A second function of the quiz, and one following naturally 
out of the first, is that of correction. The immature student, 
in the class exercise as well as in his home study or laboratory 
observation, will not only overlook things but will also mis- 
interpret his experiences, and only a prompt correction will 
prevent further misconceptions as a consequence. The cor- 
rection should not take the form of destructive fault-finding, 
and on the other hand it should not as a rule involve telling 
* Mentioned by Young in "The Teaching of Mathematics," p. 133. 



THE RECITATION MODE Si 

the student the correct observation or result. A truly con- 
structive criticism is one wherein the student is led to dis- 
cover for himself the inaccuracy of his answer and the correct 
method of procedure; then, unless the answer is unimportant 
and time lacking, to work out and substitute the correct con- 
clusion in place of the erroneous one. When the student 
encounters excessive difficulty in correcting his mistake, 
appeal may well be made to the class for assistance, thereby 
not merely developing the spirit of helpfulness, but at the 
same time utilizing the problem as a class problem. Both in 
his own correction and in that by the class the teacher must 
maintain a rational distribution of emphasis, leading the 
pupils to distinguish between fundamental and trifling errors. 
Thus a pupil's mistake may often by skilful, considerate 
treatment be utilized for both intellectual and moral training 
of the class. 

A third function of the quiz is that of leading the student 
to generalize upon the basis of the data acquired in his study. 
His laboratory observations may have given him the facts 
regarding each of a number of processes, his study of ballads 
may have familiarized him with the essential features of each, 
but the subsequent discussion of the principle in them all 
brings simultaneously to consciousness the common features 
of all the processes or ballads. 

Fourthly, the oral quiz oflFers an opportunity to suggest 
applications of the generalization thus derived to the explana- 
tion of problems encountered outside the immediate field in 
which the generalization is made. A principle in physics 
may be made to explain a hitherto puzzling phenomenon in 
the action of a machine. Thus the oral quiz may combine 
with its fundamental factor of testing the further factors of 
reflection and application, and incidentally expression. 

A further benefit results from the stimulating and broad- 
ening effect of classroom discussion. The various points of 
view and interpretations of different students induce a sort 
of funding of contributions, in which each individual contrib- 



82 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

utes what he has and shares in the joint interpretation of the 
class. 

The Examination. — A study of the testing factor in the 
recitation mode would not be complete without brief men- 
tion of its near relative, the examination. Indeed, it involves 
no stretch of the imagination to call the examination a recit- 
ing as a means of testing, and its problem is one of instruc- 
tion rather than merely an administrative one. As the term 
is commonly understood, the examination differs from the 
recitation in two essential features. In the first place, it 
covers a much larger amount of material, and hence has much 
greater weight in the evaluation of the pupil's work. The 
examiner must therefore exercise care that the questions set 
shall be truly representative ones. Merely glancing over the 
work covered and selecting at random topics or problems 
which are easy to formulate as questions and definite to grade 
upon as answers obviously disregards this requirement. The 
truly representative examination is the one in which the 
questions are so distributed as most adequately to test the 
pupil's mastery of the subject in as many of its phases as 
the length of the examination will permit. Before formulat- 
ing a question paper the examiner should have a definite idea 
of what the course is intended to effect, to what knowledge, 
power, or emotional development the student is supposed to 
have attained. With this in mind, a well-balanced, properly 
emphasized examination can be produced, in which funda- 
mentals rather than incidentals are stressed, each in propor- 
tion to its importance, and the element of chance will be 
reduced to a minimum or perhaps wholly eliminated. A well- 
taught course and a representative examination will do much 
to reduce the anxiety of the student lest he get caught upon 
some unexpected or overlooked point. 

The second distinguishing feature of the examination, in 
contrast to the recitation, is the fact that being usually in 
writing and coming at the close of a section of work, it offers 
practically no opportunity for discussion and correction. 



THE RECITATION MODE 83 

For the student, the requirement of meeting the situation" 
absolutely independently is by no means harmful but quite 
the reverse. However, the examination should when possi- 
ble be followed by at least one class exercise or series of per- 
sonal conferences for the clarifying of obscure points and the 
correcting of misconceptions. It thus ceases to be merely 
administrative in character and becomes a real instrumen- 
tality in instruction. 

3. The Recitation as Drill 

Function of Drill. — Whereas the testing mode is applica- 
ble to practically every type of educational content, drill is 
in its application limited to processes and memory material. 
We test the algebra student on his ability to reason out the 
statement of his problem, to formulate it as an equation, to 
solve the equation, and to state the rule for its solution. We 
drill him upon only the two last-named, representing respec- 
tively process and memory. Moreover, the less the process 
has been reduced to mechanism and the less mechanical is 
the type of memory involved, the less applicable is drill. 
Drill is, in fact, the rendering stereot3^ed and automatic of 
a process or memory which is so elemental in character that it 
can thereby be fitted to render permanent and ready service. 
The function of drill, therefore, is to secure readiness of proc- 
ess and retention of memory material, or, differently stated, 
it aims to render certain lines of action and thought habitual. 
It is thus a measure aimed at economy, since it largely frees 
the attention from the immediate details, for the considera- 
tion of other newer or less typical situations.^ 

Applicability of Drill. — Drill is, as we have said, limited in 
its range of application. In so far as emotion or reflection is 
essential in any content, to that degree is drill obviously un- 
suited, since it aims at automatism rather than thought, at 

^As the reader will see, drill Is here taken to mean something more 
than a mere unthinking, mechanical repetition of material. 



84 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

products rather than processes. On the other hand, in such 
studies as the foreign languages, where the forms and rela- 
tions are, for the student at least, largely arbitrary, memory 
plays a leading role. Mathematics involves many processes 
which are frequently utilized, and, although the student must 
thoroughly understand the basis for each step, he must be 
able to employ the process readily without pausing to rethink 
the logic of them. In the same way, such studies as manual 
training, the commercial branches, and physical training 
abound in processes and facts which demand drill for their 
establishment as memories. Drill is thus peculiarly applica- 
ble in the establishment of a rote memory, wherein there is a 
high degree of uniformity in the form of the material, and has 
but little place in the realm of logical memory, in which the 
form is subordinate and variable. It follows as a corollary 
of all this that, when the time and energy required by ade- 
quate drill upon a process or fact equal those involved in 
rethinking the process or rediscovering the fact when needed 
later, drill is a waste rather than an economy, and the wise 
instructor will be on his guard lest, in his zeal for thorough- 
ness, he misdirect his efforts. As material illustrative of this 
might be cited some of the formulas in trigonometry and 
physics, the details of setting up the apparatus for the genera- 
tion of certain less common gases in chemistry, and the 
method of solving algebraic equations by the substitution of 
(u -\- v) for X and {u — v) for y. The day is not long past 
when the study of history in the schools was mainly a mem- 
orizing of facts and dates, due largely to a mistaken concep- 
tion of the function of historical study. To-day we realize 
that facts and dates to be memorized merely serve as the 
framework for the study of history, and, just because they are 
such framework, they form a comparatively small part of the 
whole, yet must be drilled upon until firmly fixed. In the 
study of mathematics the inexperienced teacher, rebelling 
against the mechanical memorizing of formal rules and 
"cases" of earlier days, is in danger of erring in the other 



THE RECITATION MODE 85 

direction by not drilling enough upon essential processes. 
He often devotes his energies to a limited degree of drill upon 
a large number of data, whereas he might better drill more 
exhaustively upon a smaller number of fundamental points. 
The chief virtue in drill lies not in its range but in its thor- 
oughness. 

For convenience of treatment, we shall consider drill as 
of two forms or types, according to the form of its content, 
viz., drill upon processes and drill upon facts. 

Drill upon Processes. — We have seen that one of the 
aims of drill is to render a process automatic, ready and cer- 
tain in operation, and involving a transfer of attention from 
the process to the result sought. In other words, it is one 
type of habit-forming, and as such involves the principle of 
simple association.^ What is really done in habit-forming is 
the establishing of a strong association between a certain type 
of situation and the desired type of response, so that the 
former inevitably leads to the latter. It follows that the 
rules for controlling association, as stated in Chapter II, are 
virtually those for the formation of habits. 

For the instruction in the classroom the process may be 
viewed as consisting of two steps which might be termed the 
initiation and the fixation, and which correspond in general 
to Thorndike's "Lsiw of Effect" and ''Law of Exercise.'' 2 
The former of these laws, which he calls "the fundamental 
law of learning and teaching," Thorndike states briefly as 
follows: '^ Satisfying results strengthen, and discomfort weak- 
ens, the bond between situation and response." In terms of 
classroom procedure, this would mean that a prime essential 
in drill is a strong motive. The first performance of the 
activity must be under the stress of a real motive. The stu- 
dent must jfeel the appeal of the situation as a real one for 
him: one the meaning of which furnishes him genuine grati- 
fication, and into the solution of which he injects his whole 
self. This insures what James calls '^sl strong and decided 
iP. 17. 2Xhorndike, "Education," pp. 95-97. 



86 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

initiative," so that the subsequent fixation of the activity as 
habit does not involve passing through an intermediate stage 
of drudgery, but the original interest persists until the habit 
is estabhshed. When the history student reahzes that a 
knowledge of the sequence and dates of the United States 
presidential administrations will serve him as the framework 
for the location and relationship of the events in American 
history, the interest in the Hst will persist into and through 
its fixation in memory. Ideal habit formation involves a 
transfer of attention from process to product, but without 
this strong initial motive the attention is not thus trans- 
ferred, but is dissipated during this intermediate stage of 
drudgery, and the product is the inflexible, inelastic habit of 
unintelligent mechanism. The boy who can solve the fac- 
toring problem only when he is told the case under which it 
falls is a typical product of unintelligent, uninterested drill. 
For him the situation to be met is not a mathematical one 
but one of avoiding unpleasant consequences. 

The second stage in habit-forming, the fixation stage, is 
interpreted by Thorndike by the *4aw of exercise." ''Other 
things being equal, exercise strengthens the bond between 
situation and response." Every performance of an activity 
tends to render that activity more ready and exact. Nega- 
tively stated, every exception permitted during the formation 
of a habit tends to weaken that habit. Drill, therefore, in- 
volves frequent repetition of the process for the purpose of 
fixing it. Account must be taken, not merely of the activity 
as such, but of it as a response to a certain type of situation. 
Accordingly, it must aim at a fiixation both of the process 
itself and of the connection between the process and the prob- 
lem to which it is the response. The drill upon the removal 
of parenthetical symbols in algebraic expressions must be 
permeated with the realization that it is not a juggling with 
symbols and letters, but the simplification of the expression 
for greater ease of its manipulation. The stages of initiation 
and fixation are thus seen, not to be discrete and independent, 



THE RECITATION MODE 87 

but to form a definite unitary whole, the establishment of a 
ready, accurate, and lasting response to a typical situation. 
Drill upon processes is educative in so far as it effects the 
establishment of such a response. 

Drill upon Facts. — The second type of drill, that upon 
facts, has a somewhat different psychical character. As the 
drill upon processes was essentially habit-forming, the drill 
upon facts might be termed memory-forming. ^ Here, too, we 
have a form of simple association, in that a memory is but an 
association set up between two ideas so that one leads im- 
mediately to the other. And here, as before, the rules for 
simple association are fundamental. A memory involves four 
distinct and essential processes: learning, retention, recall, and 
recognition.^ All four are involved in drill though not all 
can be directly influenced by training. ^' There can be no 
improvement of the general or elementary faculty of mem- 
ory; there can only be improvement of our memory for special 
systems of associated things; and this latter improvement is 
due to the way in which the things in question are woven into 
association with each other in the mind." ^ The implication 
of this oft-quoted statement of Professor James seems to be 
that the work of training a memory must be devoted less to 
the process of retention than to that of learning, an implica- 
tion quite in accord with the teachings of present-day psy- 
chology. 

The maxim, *'Well begun is half done," has a peculiar 
validity in the case of memory, for that which is well learned 
stands an excellent chance of being remembered. On the 
other hand, retention is essentially passive, and as such can 

1 The word "memory" as here used refers not to a supposed general 
capacity for remembering, but to a particular type of mental functioning. 
For example, we have a memory of yesterday's rainstorm, a memory of 
the spelling of a certain word, etc. This employment of the term is in 
accord with its usage in modern psychological literature. Cf. Titchener, 
"Textbook in Psychology," § 117; Pillsbury, "Essentials of Psychology," 
chap. VIII, etc. 

2 Pillsbury, "Essentials of Psychology," p. 189. 

3 James, "Talks to Teachers," pp. 123-124. 



88 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

be affected little if at all by specific training. For much the 
same reason, perhaps, retention is practically dependent as to 
both degree and character upon the learning. What was the 
best learned will be the best retained. What was learned in 
visual terms will remain predominantly visual, rather than 
auditory or motor, in its retention. The arrangement of ele- 
ments in the learning will be their arrangement in retention. 
Recall is the active counterpart of retention. It is the ^'run- 
ning down'' of an idea which one believes to be at the remote 
end of a chain of ideas, the near end of which is suggested 
either directly or indirectly by the situation at hand. It is 
unnecessary to say that what has not been learned and re- 
tained cannot be recalled, yet teachers often overlook the 
corollary that what has been the best learned is the most 
readily and accurately recalled. The factor of recognition is 
seldom mentioned in pedagogical discussions of memory, yet 
its significance is real. To-day, as I sought to recall in a for- 
eign language the equivalent for * thread," the word came to 
my consciousness. Though subsequent investigation showed 
the correctness of the recall, the element of recognition was 
lacking, and my memory of the word was really of little value 
because unreliable. The efficient student not merely will 
know, but will know that he knows. 

Drill upon facts is, as we have seen, the formation of mem- 
ories. The requirements for its successful conduct are there- 
fore derived from the conditions of efficient memory and ul- 
timately from the nature of memory itself. What must be 
the form and character of the content with which the drill is 
employed, and what the form and character of the drill itself? 

Memory content must, in the first place, be deeply im- 
pressed. To this, a vividness of imagery is conducive, and the 
instructor will do well to utilize a variety of avenues of ap- 
proach in ^'bringing home" a fact to be remembered. The 
student who has heard a chemical formula spoken, has seen it 
written, and has written it himself has received a far deeper 
impression than would have come from reading it from the 
book a dozen times. When the content is in the form of an 



THE RECITATION MODE 89 

abstraction, it should be clearly formulated and its concrete 
application should be obvious. Clear ideas, like clear images, 
produce deep impressions, and abstractions without their con- 
crete implications closely associated soon lose their implica- 
tions and make but faint impressions upon consciousness be- 
cause of their indefiniteness. A well-stated rule in algebra, 
Latin, or domestic science, supplemented with adequate 
training in its application, is infinitely better memory content 
than a rule which is obscure or poorly stated, or without its 
concrete implication in terms of actual problems in those sub- 
jects. 

A second requirement of memory content is that its ele- 
ments shall be widely and strongly associated. While depth 
of impression is fundamental in all memory, and is probably 
its dominant basis in childhood, the most effectual factor in 
the memory of adolescents and adults is the association of 
ideas. Since recall involves the tracing of an association back 
from an idea at hand to the one sought, it follows that in the 
effort to recall a desired idea the ability to hit upon an idea 
which has an association with the desired idea is essential. 
The teacher must therefore develop in the student's mind as- 
sociations between the thing being studied and a number of 
other easily recalled ideas, so that the pupil may later be able 
to hit upon something which suggests the desired idea. The 
more roads lead to Rome, the more easily and surely one can 
find his way thither. However, we must make sure that the 
student recognizes the idea with which the thing sought is 
associated. A road to Rome is of little value to the traveller 
who does not know that it leads thither. Naturally the best 
method for this is to lead the student to such an interpreta- 
tion of the idea that its relations with other ideas already 
familiar are recognized. In other words, its place in the sys- 
tem of the student's experience is the basis for the widest and 
best association. Such an association is the ideal, in breadth 
and in strength as well, and gives us the most serviceable type 
of memory. 

The type of memory is determined by the type of its fun- 



9© PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

damental association. When the association is based upon 
purely arbitrary relationships, rote or mechanical memory is 
the result, whereas with an association whose basis lies in a 
connection in the character of the content, we have a logical 
memory. The fact that the date of Charlemagne's coronation 
at Rome was the year 800, that the length of the seconds pen- 
dulirni is about one meter, or that the Latin word for advise 
is moneo, is in no way connected with the nature of Charle- 
magne's coronation, or of the pendulum, or of the idea of 
advice. On the other hand, the facts that Charlemagne's 
coronation was as head of the Holy Roman Empire, that there 
is a fixed relationship between pendulum length and vibra- 
tion time, and that moneo is the basis of the English word 
"admonition," are not arbitrary but involve a logical connec- 
tion. The former are matters of rote memory, the latter of 
logical memory. The difference between the two is funda- 
mental and the appropriateness of drill in the two cases must 
differ accordingly. 

Conditions of Drill. — We have seen that the content of the 
drill must be deeply impressed and widely and strongly associ- 
ated. The character and form of the drill itself remain to be 
considered. The most obvious feature is repetition. Just as 
an act performed many times is the most easy to perform, so 
an idea longest retained and the most often brought to focus 
of consciousness is the most lasting in memory and the most 
ready of recall. Repetition is thus fundamental in drill, es- 
pecially when the type of memory sought is rote rather than 
logical. Although a limited degree of repetition in the case 
of a logical memory assists in deepening the impression, ex- 
tended repetition tends to reduce the thought relationship to 
a mere form of words, thus destroying its chief educational 
value. A demonstration in geometry, when memorized, 
ceases to be a demonstration, and has no more value than a 
list of nonsense syllables. In the case of rote memory, how- 
ever, since the relationship is arbitrary and the thought in- 
volved is immediately obvious from the words memorized, the 
form of the content rather than its logical basis is the essential 



THE RECITATION MODE 9I 

feature and repetition is the leading element in the drill. The 
use of cases after certain prepositions, the formulas of many 
chemical compounds, and the lineal descent of the French 
kings are matters of rote memory, and can be memorized only 
by prolonged and frequent repetition. The same applies also 
to such processes as the use of instruments in drawing and 
sight-reading in music. 

It is not enough that the matter be repeated many times, 
but the repetition must be rationally and economically con- 
ducted. Prolonged repetition naturally produces fatigue and 
consequently distraction of attention, which in turn prevents 
a deep impression. Economy in drill demands that the drill 
shall not be prolonged past the point where fatigue interferes 
with the focussing of attention upon the content. It is far 
better to drill often than to drill too long at one time. It has 
also been found that in some types of memorizing, and within 
certain limits, it is better not to divide the whole into small 
sections but to keep the larger units intact. For example, in 
learning a poem the student is advised to read the whole se- 
lection or large unit of content through from beginning to end 
a number of times, thus establishing the greatest possible 
number of associations between the parts in their proper order. 
This is better than first breaking up the selection into small 
parts and learning each part separately, thus setting up wrong 
associations between the end and the beginning of each part 
through the constant return from end to beginning in the repe- 
tition involved in the memorizing.^ Since drill is for the 
purpose of insuring memory, these rules for memorizing apply 
with equal validity to the work of drill. 

But mere repetition, however extended, will not suffice. 
Drill must be intelligent. The student who repeats mechan- 

1 C/. Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," pp. 154-158. 
In practice the teacher will doubtless experience difficulty in introducing 
this method of learning. Since students do not see results as quickly as 
with the small-unit memorizing to which they are accustomed, they are 
likely to become discouraged and to attempt the learning with such lack 
of confidence as to hinder its accomplishment. In such cases, success is 
possible only through encouragement and patient insistence. 



92 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ically not only forgets quickly but fails to acquire readiness 
in the application of the thing learned. A formula of words 
whose meaning is not known is utterly useless. As we have 
already seen in the case of habit, so in the sphere of memory 
the aim is not to render the entire activity unconscious and 
mechanical, but the attention to the situation which stimu- 
lated the thought and to the purpose of the activity must 
never be permitted to flag. It is not enough that the student 
repeat mechanically the formula for the velocity of falling 
bodies or the conjugation of the verb ''trouver." He must 
throughout the drill realize that he is giving the answer to 
the question, ^'How rapidly does a body fall?'' or '^How do 
the French say, ^I found, you found, they found'?" Prob- 
ably one of the chief causes for the inability of students to 
apply what they are supposed to have learned in school is to 
be found in unintelligent, mechanical drill. 

It is but another formulation of the same idea to say that 
drill must be applied. The concrete application of the ma- 
terial must be ever in the student's mind as he repeats the 
words in which the principle has been expressed. Not merely 
must rules and formulas be drilled upon in the abstract 
statement, but the student must be given corresponding 
practice in solving the problems to which they refer. The 
learning of lists of prepositions governing the dative will be 
of little practical service unless accompanied by drill upon the 
concrete cases: '^aus der Stadt," "nach Hause," etc. The 
most effectual drill is that which most nearly approximates in 
form the actual situations for whose solution it is intended. 
Studying a vocabulary by always repeating first the foreign, 
then the English, word, will be of small service in learning to 
write Latin or speak French, as many a student has dis- 
covered to his sorrow. Not merely must the relation between 
the English expression and its foreign equivalent be remem- 
bered, but each must at once suggest the other in actual prac- 
tice. 

A further requirement of drill is that it shall be sufficient. 



THE RECITATION MODE 93 

Although on his guard against prolonging the exercise to the 
point of fatigue, the teacher must also realize that the foun- 
dation-stone of habit-forming and memory-forming is thor- 
oughness, for what is partially learned is soon forgotten. 
Mere knowledge that a fact is true, however clearly it may be 
understood, will not become a permanent possession until it 
has been deeply impressed by repetition while still fresh in 
consciousness. Thereafter, it is not necessary that subse- 
quent drills be prolonged; indeed, often a single repetition will 
suffice to restore the freshness of an earlier memory. But 
what has once been won at the cost of much time and labor is 
presumably too precious to be permitted to slip away for 
want of precaution, and the teacher who believes in the con- 
servation of acquired resources will so plan his work that the 
old will reappear, possibly in a new dress, but often enough to 
escape being forgotten. A restimulation of the memory by 
giving it a new and fresh motivation, especially in the light of 
newly encountered problems, will often assist greatly in re- 
viving and deepening the original impression. The thorough- 
ness of which our grandfathers boasted is a virtue which the 
modern teacher may well emulate. In these days of pre- 
scribed and overcrowded courses, the beginning teacher is 
ever tempted to press on to new themes, misled by a half- 
conscious feeling that what the student once knows he will 
retain. One of the hardest lessons for the pedagogical novice 
to learn is the importance and meaning of thoroughness. His 
task would often be greatly lightened could he but realize 
that thoroughness is rather intensive than extensive. It is 
not that everything be learned but that the fundamentals be 
mastered. 

Cramming. — The question as to the value of cramming 
has often been raised and variously answered. Much depends 
upon the meaning given to the term. If by it is meant a 
final general review of what has previously been intelligently 
learned, with the purpose of refreshing old associations, its 
value is real and great. However, cramming is usually taken 



94 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

to mean a hurried attempt to learn in a few hours what 
should have occupied weeks in the mastering. As thus inter- 
preted, cramming is a violation of almost every principle we 
have just enunciated. Due largely to the haste of its method, 
impressions are not deeply made, since not sufficiently re- 
peated. No opportunity is given for the formation of wide or 
strong associations. The material is learned only in the form 
of the abstract or general, since the concrete implications and 
applications are slighted. The real mastery of any educa- 
tional content is a matter of time. Each step in thought, like 
each tier of stone in the building, must have had time to 
"find itself" before the next addition is made. With thor- 
ough teaching, hasty cramming will be not only unnecessary 
but impossible, since the review of what has been previously 
and adequately mastered will but revive associations, not 
construct them. 

Summarizing what we have said in the present section, we 
see that success in drill demands two somewhat broad re- 
quirements. In the first place, it shall be intelligent. This 
involves that the student shall be conscious of a real problem, 
and shall realize that the content of the drill is the solution 
of that problem. Its implications shall be made obvious, thus 
facilitating recall by providing a variety of associations. Its 
concrete appKcations shall be so incorporated in the drill that 
the ability to use what he has learned is always insured. 
The second requirement is that the drill be adequate. The 
impression must be deepened by repetition not so extensive 
as to render it unintelligent but frequent enough to prevent 
the loss of the association through lack of exercise. 

4. Propedeutic Function of the Recitation 

Apperception in Teaching. — "Nine-tenths of teaching," 
says Professor Thorndike,^ "illustrates the use or abuse of the 
law of apperception." While the recitation activity of the 
^ Thomdike, "Principles of Teaching," p. 43. 



THE RECITATION MODE _ 95 

class exercise has its phases of testing and drill upon old ma- 
terial, it has also a forward reference. Learning is possible 
only when the new material is based upon past experience, 
and the Herbartian pedagogy lays great stress upon the im- 
portance of refreshing the old ideas before the new ideas to be 
associated with them are presented. *'When it happens that 
the newly arrived stranger encounters no relatives in the 
consciousness, and that nothing can rise up from the circle of 
previous experiences to welcome it, it remains obscure and 
not understood, and a lifeless verbalism is the result. If, on 
the contrary, the new idea arouses a wealth of older ideas, 
crowding actively into consciousness, these latter become just 
so many forces to assist the new ideas to perfect clearness, 
strength, and assurance. They are, figuratively speaking, the 
welcoming arms with which the new arrival is embraced and 
adopted." ^ It is a matter of everyday experience that the 
character of the impression made upon us by a new idea de- 
pends to a great degree upon the ideas already prominent in 
our consciousness. The cry of ''Fire !" conveys to the soldier 
on the battle line an implication very different from that sug- 
gested to the night watchman on the lookout for incendi- 
aries, and each is the more ready to react adequately because 
his previous frame of mind was one of preparation for the 
event. The student will more readily learn to factor x^ — 
a;2 — 20; — I when he has just before reviewed the factoring 
of a^ — b^, A recitation reviewing the movements of the op- 
posing armies just before July 3, 1863, and the popular feel- 
ing in North and South at the time, will put the class in the 
best possible position to undertake the study of the battle of 
Gettysburg. 

The Recitation as Apperception. — It is in this preparatory 
activity of the recitation mode that its propaedeutic function 
is realized. In a well-planned course in any department of 
study there is always a unitariness and sequence, in accor- 
dance with which almost every lesson is a logical development 

iRein, "Padagogik in Systematischer Darstellung," pp. 498-499. 



96 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

from the preceding one. The oft-quoted principle that no 
material should be taught to the student until he feels the 
need of it might quite as well be expressed in the statement 
that each lesson or topic for study should, so far as possible, 
suggest and prepare for the next one. The recitation mode, 
coming as it does usually at the beginning of the lesson hour, 
is the most natural and logical preparation for the new ma- 
terial that is to follow. In secondary education especially it 
corresponds to the first of the five "formal steps," i. e., to the 
preparation step of the Herbartian pedagogy. 

The recitation mode, when thus utilized as a preparatory 
step, serves to revive old ideas and interests upon which the 
new lesson is to be based. A recitation upon the Persian 
wars and the ultimate victory of the Greeks would at the 
same time serve admirably as a preparation step for the study 
of the growth of the Athenian Empire and the Delian League, 
since the causes and significance of the latter can be under- 
stood only when the class have the former fresh in conscious- 
ness. Obviously the recitation need not be restricted to the 
material which the class have prepared specifically for the 
day, but should instead include a somewhat rapid review of 
all previously studied material which the new lesson is to 
presuppose and directly utilize. Thus opportunity is provided 
the teacher for the selection and emphasis of the material 
upon which the new lesson is to be based. He can make sure 
that the entire class have a common view-point and a com- 
plete, well-selected, and properly emphasized apperceptive 
mass. Without in any way detracting from the provision for 
individual differences, he leads all his pupils up to a recogni- 
tion of the same situation, the same problem, and to a con- 
siderable degree the same data for the solution of the problem. 
With this accomplished, a common interest in the new les- 
son is practically assured. 

Must every employment of the recitation mode have this 
propedeutic function? Is it not best occasionally to devote 



THE RECITATION MODE 97 

an entire class exercise to recitation? If custom is an ade- 
quate justification, the latter question will certainly demand 
an affirmative answer, for the recitation mode is practically 
the only one employed by many who are considered fairly 
successful teachers. Such teaching, however, is at best 
drudgery when made more than an occasional practice, and 
the vitality which sometimes accompanies it is merely an ac- 
companiment, not an inherent part of the instruction. It is 
the vitality of the teacher's personality, and exists not be- 
cause of but in spite of the method. If the vitality is sufficient 
to survive in this artificial situation, what might it not be 
when the zest of discovery and progress pervades the class 
exercise ! The recitation mode is the easiest to employ, and 
is naturally the one into which the lazy or non-progressive 
teacher is apt to fall. Moreover, being the simplest in char- 
acter, it is the one most readily and commonly imitated. Is 
it too harsh to assert that a large part of our high school 
teachers, especially those whose professional training has 
shown them no better way, may be classed as either lazy, 
non-progressive, or imitative? If a study of method has 
any claim to virtue, it is that it enables the teacher to employ 
not one mode of instruction but many. It lifts him above the 
slavery of routine and renders him free and efficient in his 
educational activities. To the question with which the pres- 
ent paragraph opened, the answer seems to be that the reci- 
tation mode, as indeed any mode of instruction, may in rare 
cases occupy the entire class exercise, especially when it is 
made the occasion for extensive amplification and interpre- 
tation of the material recited upon. However, when the 
teacher finds such procedure becoming at all common, it will 
be well for both himself and his pupils if he blaze for himself 
new trails in the domain of method. The best results in teach- 
ing are attained not by the exclusive use of any one mode of 
instruction, but by various combinations of modes adapted 
to various pedagogical aims. 



98 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 



5. Summary 

The recitation is more than a reciting of memorized ma- 
terial, but should serve the threefold function of testing, drill, 
and propaedeutic. 

As a testing exercise its aim is to insure progress by de- 
termining the student's faithfulness in study, the adequacy 
of his lesson preparation, the adequacy of the instruction, 
and the appropriateness of the material taught, and by pro- 
viding opportunity for explanation and correction. Faith- 
fulness of lesson preparation is not necessarily identical with 
preparation sufficient for further progress. The oral quiz 
serves to enforce lesson preparation, to amplify what has been 
studied, to correct errors, to provide for generalizations, and 
to offer opportunity for application. The examination differs 
from the recitation in that it covers a much wider scope and 
that class discussion is practically precluded. 

Drill aims to render permanent and readily usable certain 
intellectual processes and knowledge which are sufficiently 
formal in character and general in application to permit of 
their automatic employment. Drill has accordingly a limited 
sphere of usefulness. Drill upon processes, as habit forma- 
tion, involves the two steps of initiation and fixation. Drill 
upon facts, as memory formation, involves training in learn- 
ing, retention, recall, and recognition, in so far as each of 
these is amenable to training. The content, in memory 
formation, must be deeply impressed and widely and strongly 
associated. Repetition is the fundamental process in drill, 
which must be intelligent, applied, and sufficient in degree. 

The propaedeutic function of the recitation mode lies in 
the fact that the review of any content may serve also as the 
preparation for instruction of further related content. This 
function is realized in a proper combination in the class exer- 
cise of the various modes of instruction. 



THE RECITATION MODE 99 



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Should the spirit of the testing in the recitation mode be that 
of trying to catch the delinquent? If not, what spirit should prevail 
instead ? 

2. When all the class show inadequate preparation of the lesson, 
how would you proceed to deal with the situation ? 

3. When a considerable number of the class repeatedly fail to 
prepare lessons, how would you deal with the situation? 

4. What are the objections to beginning each class exercise with a 
brief written test on the lesson assigned for the day ? 

5. Some teachers require pupils to grade their own test papers. 
What are the advantages and the disadvantages of so doing? 

6. A physics pupil was perfectly familiar with the formula, "Violet, 
indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, red," but did not know to what the 
formula referred. What was wrong with his drill ? 

7. A history pupil could not recall the name "Magna Charta," 
but readily recognized it when prompted. What was wrong with his 
memorizing ? 

8. Would it be well to memorize the demonstration of a di£5cult 
proposition in geometry after it is thoroughly understood? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Thomdike, "Education," §§ 17, 25. 

Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chaps. IV, X. 

Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. VIII. 

Bagley, "Educative Process," chap. XXII. 

Colvin, "An Introduction to High School Teaching," chaps. VIII, 

IX, X. 
Thorndike, "Principles of Teaching," chap. IV. 



CHAPTER VII 

LESSON DEVELOPMENT 
I. Learning and Feeling 

Situation and Response. — The entire intellectual life of 
the child seems to consist in encountering situations and re- 
acting to them. The teacher is constantly leading him to ap- 
propriate situations, and inciting and directing him to the 
best reactions. The entire curriculum is for the student a 
system of situations so selected and organized that the reac- 
tion to one serves as the introduction to the next. To the 
high school student the problem in mathematics, the Latin 
rule to be mastered, or the poem to be studied provides a 
situation demanding from him some suitable response. In the 
preceding chapter we treated the recitation mode as the re- 
action to a situation previously encountered, and recalled for 
further consideration. The treatment of a new situation, one 
which the student has not already encountered, calls for the 
employment of somewhat different modes of instruction. 

The Meeting of Situations. — In dealing with a new situ- 
ation, or, in the language of the school, in advance work, the 
procedure seems to fall into certain fairly well-defined ele- 
ments or steps. Confronted with an electrical phenomenon 
in physics, the student first observes it to see what has hap- 
pened, under what conditions, and what about it is not readily 
understood. Thus he becomes familiar with the problem- 
atic situation. Possibly it may not interest him further, in 
which case it ceases to be a problem to him and receives no 
further consideration. But if it is to be solved, it must ap- 
peal to his interest; it must challenge him with a demand for 
its solution. In response to that challenge or appeal, he pro- 
ceeds to investigate for the explanation of the phenomenon, 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT lOI 

the solution of the problem. Finally, he gives expression to 
the knowledge thus secured in the explanation or construc- 
tion of some electrical device which occurs to him. A similar 
process occurs when he encounters a new proposition in geom- 
etry, an unfamiliar sentence structure in French, or a polit- 
ical movement in history. Or his response may be not merely 
intellectual but one of feeling, as in the case of the literary 
selection, to which he responds principally by appreciation. 
So we find that whenever the instruction is based upon the 
mastery of new situations there are involved for the student 
these four phases or steps: the knowledge of the situation, its 
appeal to him, his response to it, and the consequent expres- 
sion. With any of these four elements lacking, the treat- 
ment of a lesson upon new material is incomplete and its value 
largely lost. 

By knowledge of a situation is meant an acquaintance 
with its facts and conditions, so that the student encounter- 
ing it has an adequate basis for its interpretation. But as 
knowledge alone will lead him to nothing unless it has an 
appeal to the student's interest, the situation must be such 
as to challenge his activity; he must feel it not merely as a 
problem or aesthetic situation but as his problem or situation. 
After the knowledge and the appeal of the situation follows 
directly the student's response to it. The response may be 
either an intellectual one, such as the discovery of a new fact 
or the solution of a thought-problem, or it may be a sen- 
timental one, with appreciation as the dominant factor. Fi- 
nally, the whole culminates in expression, whether of the 
fact or principle acquired or of the sentimental experience. 

T3rpes of Response. — The dominant factor in the response 
to the situation may be, as we have said, either intellectual 
or sentimental. One type of situation centres about the 
acquisition of desired information or the solution of a sug- 
gested problem. In the other the knowledge factor is 
merely incidental, serving as a means to the arousal of an 
attitude or feeling. We may thus characterize the two as 



I02 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the learning type and the feeling type, yet not forgetting 
that they are merely types, and that no hard-and-fast line of 
distinction can be drawn between them. Thus, a descrip- 
tion of the procedure in a presidential electoral college or an 
exercise in physics might illustrate the problematic type, the 
study of a literary selection the feeling or appreciation type. 

2. Development in Teaching 

Meaning of Development. — We have seen that learning 
and feeling are the student's activity in the face of a new 
situation, and that it is the teacher's function to induce and 
direct that activity. Moreover, the activity must be recip- 
rocal, with both class and instructor in constant, intelligent 
co-operation. Teacher's questions must stimulate student's 
thought and counter-question. What is known must incite 
to further discovery, and recourse must be had to every 
suitable source of information, whether text-book, instructor, 
experiment, or past experience. Word picture must stimu- 
late imagination, beauty of form must induce aesthetic re- 
sponse. Point must lead to point, and each moment must 
bring to consciousness a need for the next moment to supply. 
Here is evidently the place where the development type of 
questioning described in Chapter V will find its chief applica- 
tion. To this reciprocal activity, with the teacher as inspirer 
and guide, and directed toward the accomplishment of the 
learning and feeling processes, we shall give the name de- 
veloping. 

Whether the thing sought in the lesson be knowledge, or 
process, or feeling, the teaching consists in directing the 
thought of the class toward the accomplishment of the desired 
end, supplying data when needed, and even suggesting ideas 
which the class are qualified to appropriate and use but not 
to originate. Through this directing, supplying, and assist- 
ing activity of the teacher, and the reciprocal activity of the 
class, the lesson develops step by step from situation to 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT I03 

response, from goal set to goal attained, and it is to this 
joint activity that the name "lesson development" or "de- 
velopment instruction" is applied.^ 

A typical lesson development would be that of the dem- 
onstration of the geometrical proposition that the diagonals 
of a parallelogram bisect each other. In this case the teacher 
could, by a series of questions and occasional suggestions, 
conduct the class from the knowledge of the relationship of 
parallel lines and transversals, of equal angles, and of con- 
gruent triangles to the deduction of the equality of the seg- 
ments of the diagonals. In like manner, deriving its data 
from the experience and suggestions of all its members, a 
class in science may through general discussion be led to an 
understanding of geysers, of the electric telegraph, or of the 
relation between a plant's leaf-and-stem structure and its 
demand for moisture. A lesson on the canning of berries 
might be developed by leading from a consideration of the 
cause of decay of fruits to a study of various preservative 
processes and materials, and their application to the fruit 
under consideration. 

In lesson development it is not necessary that the class 
supply all the facts or even do all the thinking. On the con- 
trary, the student must be trained to utilize all available 
sources of information, whether past experience or classroom 
experiment, the text-book or the teacher. Even in the think- 
ing, the instructor must usually direct the train of thought, 
and even supply bits of the reasoning which the pupil is in- 
capable of originating. The essential is that the student is 
intellectually active throughout, never merely recording but 
always thinking through, mastering, and making his own the 
new material, whether fact or process, argument or feeling. 
The source of material is but incidental. Whether a lesson 
is developed rather than merely recorded by the student is 
essentially a question of the student's activity. 

^ The reader will observe that the term "development" has here a 
wider connotation than is usually given it by writers on teaching method. 



I04 PRINCIPLES or TEACHING 

Thus it follows that such a topic as the battle of Gettys- 
burg may be developed, by making use of map, of text-book, 
of the student's knowledge of preliminary conditions, and of 
the teacher's recital of facts. The development of Tenny- 
son's ^' Break, Break, Break'' is but a matter of so studying 
the poem with the class that they are led to an appreciation 
of it. In fact, simply reading a selection well, with an occa- 
sional comment and question, may at times constitute a 
development of it. The teaching of the use of normal, in- 
verted, and transposed order in German will be a develop- 
ment provided the class are actively responsive in both 
thought and word in the explanation and interpretation of 
the principles involved. 

Development involves a logical procedure from point to 
point, and a step-by-step advance from a given situation to 
its intellectual and emotional implications. Because of this 
orderly, systematic procedure with definite conscious aim, it 
involves much more than the term "conversation'' would 
suggest.^ It differs from the recitation mode in that it deals 
with a new situation instead of one already met. It differs 
from lecturing in that it involves the active participation of 
the student in the discovery and formulation of the material 
and its appreciation. It differs from study in that the teacher 
is constantly active in the arousal and guidance of the stu- 
dent's thought. In other words, whenever both teacher and 
class are reciprocally active in the learning and feeling proc- 
esses of the class exercise, the procedure is called development. 
Thus, as the term is here employed, development is more 
than a method. It is the method of teaching new material, 
if we have justified our position that only reciprocal activity 
in the class exercise constitutes teaching. If lecturing can 
be classed as teaching, as is the case with advanced pupils, it 

^ Parker suggests the substitution of the term "conversational method " 
for "development method." His warning against wandering and poorly- 
distributed activity in the use of the "conversational method" would have 
less force were he to adhere to the term "development " as above employed. 
Cf. Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," pp. 437-438, 441. 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT I05 

is only when there is a constant active intellectual response 
on the part of the class, even though unexpressed. 

Value of Lesson Development. — The great pedagogical 
merit of development as a form of instruction is generally 
recognized, especially in Germany, where the thorough train- 
ing of teachers facilitates its employment. The German 
school recognizes the function of the class exercise as an 
occasion not for recitation merely but for learning as well. 
For example, the Prussian school regulations specify that the 
first essays by the students shall be written in the class exer- 
cise rather than as an outside assignment. In practice, how- 
ever, the employment of development in instruction is neither 
common nor easy. We are prone to subordinate power to 
information, and to neglect the development because the 
information can be imparted so much more quickly by telling 
or reading. Moreover, lecturing and recitation are easy in 
comparison, and as a result a large part of high school instruc- 
tion is in the form of these. Development demands the ex- 
ercise of all the qualities of leadership, including a readiness 
in the interpretation of the child mind, a strong power of 
suggestion, a thorough knowledge of perspective, and the 
capacity to adapt and utilize the unexpected in the realiza- 
tion of a desired plan. However, despite its difficulty of 
acquisition and employment, the lesson development more 
than repays the effort required. 

Possibly the most common objection raised to develop- 
ment instruction is that it does for the student what he should 
be trained to do for himself, in his study. This objection 
arises from a misconception of the character of development. 
Doing a pupil's thinking and learning for him is not develop- 
ment. On the contrary, developing a lesson involves doing 
for the student what he cannot do for himself, doing it at the 
moment he needs it, and insuring its mastery before further 
progress. Instruction by a good teacher is far superior to 
self-teaching out of a text-book because of its adaptation to 
the movement of thought and the individual needs of pupils. 



Io6 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The text-book is at its best only when it supplements the 
teacher, not supplants him. Many a text-book in the mar-^ 
ket to-day is far better adapted for use in a correspondence 
course than in school instruction, and owes its popularity to 
the fact that it undertakes to relieve the poor teacher of the 
most exacting part of his work. 

3. General Principles of Development Instruction 

However widely the modes of development instruction 
may differ in many respects, there are certain respects in 
which they are fundamentally similar. In every case there 
is a measure of acquisition, of reflection, and of expression, 
whether the factor of appreciation be included or not, and we 
can discover a number of general principles which, with vary- 
ing degrees of applicability, hold in all developmental proce- 
dure, whether of the problematic or of the appreciation mode. 
Although variously stated and interpreted, there is a marked 
degree of agreement regarding the principles, some of which 
have come down to us from the seventeenth century with 
but little change of form. 

Known to Unknown. — Proceed from the known to the 
unknown. Thought occupies itself only with that which 
interests it, and interest is possible only with that which 
bears some relation to what is already familiar. This is prac- 
tically a restatement of the principle of apperception. As 
the child apperceives the new in terms of the old, so the high 
school student interprets the new situation through the me- 
dium of his past experiences, and the new situation be- 
comes a situation for him only in so far as it is seen to arise 
out of existing interests. Thus both the student's acquain- 
tance with the new situation and his response to it are depen- 
dent upon the procedure from the known to the unknown. 
In geography we begin with the school grounds and the 
home town, and gradually extend the field of study to ever 
more and more remote lands. In Latin the student's famil- 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT 107 

iarity with the first conjugation is made the basis for his study 
of the second conjugation. The multiplication by polyno- 
mials in algebra is made more clear when its relation to 
the multiplication by monomials and its analogy to arithmeti- 
cal multiplication are first shown. Whittier's "Snowbound'* 
would have little meaning to the schoolboy who was not able 
to construct the background out of his own experience. In 
any field of study the teacher who at the opening of the class 
exercise plunges directly into material unfamiliar to his class 
will soon discover that his pupils are not with him, and that 
he is travelling alone. 

To say that instruction must take its beginnings in the 
familiar implies that the teacher shall know what is the 
familiar. He must know the "apperceptive mass'' of those 
whom he would instruct. One of the most common as well 
as serious mistakes of the beginning teacher is that of over- 
estimating the knowledge and experience of his students. 
Facts and judgments which are familiar to him and are mis- 
taken by him for the acquisitions of his childhood may repre- 
sent the gradual and unconscious acquisition of his college 
life and be quite unknown to the high school boy and girl. 
The teacher must be able to put himself in the place of the 
student, seeing things through the latter's eyes, and inter- 
preting them in terms of his adolescent experience. 

Analogy. — It is probably no violation of logic to view the 
use of analogy as a phase of procedure from known to un- 
known. In teaching by analogy the relation of the unknown 
to the known, the new to the old, is not a matter of degree 
of complexity, as is so often the case where the known is the 
simpler and the unknown is such because of its greater com- 
plexity. The relation in analogy is rather one based upon 
similarity, so that, in place of a connection based upon con- 
tent, analogy is founded mainly upon the form of thought. 
There is a close parallelism between the relationship of ele- 
ments in the two analogous cases, such that the student's 
understanding of the relationship in the one case can be 



I08 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

utilized in leading him to understand the other. In teaching 
the student to multiply a-j-b-j-c by a + c the teacher will 
naturally base his instruction upon two known processes, the 
multiplication oi a -\- b -}- c by a and c separately, and an 
arithmetical multiplication such as 12 X 431. In the former 
process the relation of the known to the unknown lies not in 
analogy but in the nature of the content, viewing the latter 
as an extension of the principle of the former. In the analogy 
with the arithmetical operation, the relation is in the simi- 
larity of treatment in the two somewhat dissimilar problems. 
True analogy is rarely or never coincidental, but is usually 
based upon a real connection between the two analogous ele- 
ments. In the illustration just cited this fundamental con- 
nection between the arithmetical and the algebraic processes 
is readily noticed by the student. In general, the more fun- 
damental is the connection the better is the analogy and the 
greater its educational service. 

As illustrations of the use of analogy in teaching might be 
mentioned the following much-used explanations: the electric 
current as water flowing through a pipe, the nervous system 
as a telephone system, the advance of the frontier as the over- 
flow of a rising lake penetrating the surrounding country by 
following the lines of least resistance, and the spread of a 
political or social propaganda as the action of yeast in a 
mass of dough. 

Analogy is a most effectual tool in the hands of the care- 
ful instructor. It is, however, a tool which when carelessly 
used may cause serious mischief. The fact that the relation- 
ship is mainly one of similarity leaves room for the student 
either to assume too great a degree of similarity or to select 
the wrong elements as similar, overlooking the ones intended. 
In the mathematical analogy just suggested the beginning 
student might infer that ac should be placed under ab in the 
partial products, since the product of 2 X 4 is placed under 
that of I X 3. The use of the analogy in explaining the doc- 
trine of States' rights by the pupiFs right of withdrawal at 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT IO9 

will from membership in a debating society may lead the 
student to a fallacious conception of the Union unless the 
points wherein the analogy holds are clearly indicated. Thus 
the employment of analogy must always involve a clear un- 
derstanding of the basis and scope of the parallelism which 
forms its foundation 

Simple to Complex — '' Proceed from the simple to the 
complex/' This maxim would be less subject to criticism if it 
read; "Proceed from that which is simple for the student to 
that which is complex for him." As thus interpreted, the 
maxim is true^. for the child mind naturally tends to under- 
stand and appropriate the simple before the complex. This is 
especially true where the relationships studied are logical, as 
in mathematics, rather than arbitrary, as in some problems in 
botany. Obviously, it is wiser, if not necessary, to lead from 
multiplication by monomials to that by polynomials; that is, 
from the simpler to the more complex processes, rather than 
in the reverse direction. The working of the electric motor 
would be unintelligible unless the principle of the electric 
magnet had first been understood. On the other hand, that 
which is logically simple may be pedagogically complex, and 
the logically complex may for the child mind be relatively 
simple. The human body is infinitely more complex than the 
amoeba, yet the schoolboy studies it first because it is within 
the realm of his present experience and as such actually the 
simpler of the two for purposes of study. The logically sim- 
ple may not as such be immediately a matter of experience 
at all, but rather the product of the analysis of an experience 
which the student has encountered many a time, yet has 
never analyzed into its elements. As such might be men- 
tioned the conjugation of the verb in English grammar, the 
function of seed production as the preservation of the species, 
or the apparent smallness of remote objects as the result of 
the smaller retinal image. 

Concrete to Abstract. — *^ Proceed from the concrete to 
the abstract" is a maxim based upon a truth, although itself 



no PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

only a half-truth. It is true that each abstraction is derived 
originally from concrete experience, but it is equally true 
that every concrete act of thought returns again to the con- 
crete. True learning springs only from definite, particular 
problems or situations arising in the student's experience. 
When the same situation recurs he generalizes regarding it, 
and applies his generalization to the solution of similar situa- 
tions as they are encountered later. Thus, we should let our 
maxim read: ''Proceed from the concrete through the ab- 
stract, and then back again to the concrete." Neglect of the 
first part of the maxim is no more and no less an error in 
teaching than neglect of the second part. ''Beginning with 
definitions, rules, general principles, classifications, and the 
like, is a common form of the first error. This method has 
been such a uniform object of attack on the part of all edu- 
cational reformers that it is not necessary to dwell upon it 
further than to note that the mistake is, logically, due to the 
attempt to introduce deductive considerations without first 
making acquaintance with the particular facts that create a 
need for the generalizing rational devices. . . . The isolation 
of deduction is seen, at the other end, wherever there is failure 
to clinch and test results of the general reasoning processes by 
application to new concrete cases. The final point of the 
deductive devices lies in their use in assimilating and com- 
prehending individual cases. No one understands a general 
principle fully — no matter how adequately he can demon- 
strate it, to say nothing of repeating it — till he can employ it 
in the mastery of new situations, which, if they are new, differ 
in manifestation from the cases used in reaching the generali- 
zation." ^ 

Thus, in teaching the law of the pendulum, we should 
first experiment with a pendulum, then generalize regarding 
its performance, and finally test and apply that generaliza- 
tion with other pendulums. The rules for the use of the sub- 
junctive in "w/ clauses" must first be derived from concrete 
1 Dewey, "How We Think," pp. 98-99. 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT III 

instances of its use, and must be followed by the observation 
of concrete instances of the rule's application. The princi- 
ples of the relation of supply and demand in economics must 
arise from actual concrete situations, and must later be ap- 
plied in the interpretation of further concrete situations. 

In the procedure from the concrete through the abstract 
to the concrete, we have virtually a procedure from the 
known to the unknown. The concrete situation which gives 
rise to the thought is in the main a familiar one. It is only 
when we experience an incompleteness, an element of the 
unknown in the otherwise familiar situation, that we go in 
quest of knowledge. When that newly acquired knowledge 
has vaHdity not merely for the situation whence we started 
but for others as well, it becomes a generalization, and we at 
once apply it to the other newer situations as a means for 
their solution. Thus it is as impossible to begin with the 
abstract and proceed to the concrete as to begin with the 
new and proceed to the familiar, since the former type of 
procedure would but coincide with the latter. 

Illustration. — The use of illustration in teaching is closely 
related to the problem of concreteness in instruction. Al- 
though the term is variously and often inaccurately em- 
ployed, its legitimate use is limited to that concrete material 
which is employed in formulating the abstraction and show- 
ing its implication. The concrete which follows the com- 
pleted abstraction is properly application, not illustration, 
and its special consideration is reserved for a later chapter. 
Illustration, on the other hand, refers to all of the concrete 
situations from which the abstraction is drawn. It includes 
all the instances cited, by teacher or class, for the purpose of 
facilitating the abstraction. This might easily be taken to 
include the original situation out of which the entire thought 
process arises, since the nature and function of this initial 
situation is merely an instance, usually an especially typical 
and suggestive one, of the principle involved in the abstrac- 
tion. In studying the phenomena of stream erosion, the par- 



112 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ticular instances which are observed in the discovery of prin- 
ciples deduced serve as the illustrations; whereas the further 
cases, for whose explanation the principles are employed 
(such as the delta of the Mississippi and the formation of ox- 
bows), are the applications. Thus, the function of the illus- 
tration is to assist in leading up to the generalization of the 
lesson, and is ultimately inductive in character. At the same 
time there is usually a constant interplay between abstract 
and concrete, and the illustration which anticipates the prin- 
cipal generalization may serve also as a concrete application 
of a principle which immediately preceded it. The concrete 
cases which served as applications of the principle of stream 
erosion may at the same time serve as illustrations from 
which to deduce the principle of the general levelling action 
of water. Thus illustration is not necessarily inductive alone 
nor deductive alone, but often both at once, account being 
taken of the direction in which it is made to point. 

''Begin your exposition with an illustration'' is a word of 
advice often heard. Otherwise stated, it means that the 
development of the lesson can best be carried out when it 
originates in a concrete situation. Even though the thought 
process involved is to be deductive, only a concrete problem 
or situation will serve to stimulate the student's mental ac- 
tivity, since only such appeals to him as real and significant. 
The first words of a lesson, like those of a lecture, often deter- 
mine to a great degree the attitude of the hearer, and a well- 
chosen, aptly put, illustration of the central thought of the 
lesson hour will work wonders in creating a favorable intellec- 
tual atmosphere for learning. 

Just as the illustration at the beginning of the lesson 
development assists in focussing the thought of the class upon 
the situation or problem to be considered, so its use during 
the development serves to clarify that situation, and leads 
the student to realize its concrete implications as its various 
phases present themselves in the course of the class exercise. 
In other words, the function of the illustration is to provide 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT II3 

the concrete data out of which the final generalization is to 
be derived. To attempt to teach without illustrating is to 
attempt to abstract with nothing from which to abstract. It 
is merely formal and devoid of content. The abstraction is 
but the skeleton; the illustration is the flesh and blood. In- 
deed, there is a suggestion of truth, though a measure of 
error, in the old saying that it matters little how one gen- 
eralizes so long as his illustrations are good. 

Requirements of Illustration. — What are the essentials of 
a good illustration ? As its function is the supplying of data 
as the basis for generalizing, obviously the best illustration is 
that which best fulfils that function. With this in mind 
four requirements might be suggested. 

In the first place, the illustration must be familiar to the 
student. Citing the desert lizard as an example of protective 
coloring has little significance for the New York schoolboy. 
Not merely is the familiar more interesting to him, but it 
alone has meaning for him, since it represents his own ex- 
perience. To the justice of this requirement all will give 
intellectual assent. Possibly all that is necessary, therefore, 
is to recall what was said earlier in the chapter, where the 
teacher was urged to proceed from the known to the unknown, 
since the principle involved and the importance of its applica- 
tion are the same in both cases. 

Secondly, the illustration shall be accurate. It must rep- 
resent the principle correctly, and must not be something 
which, however suggestive or interesting in itself, is likely to 
lead the student to an erroneous conclusion. Illustrating the 
wave motion of sound by means of transverse waves on a 
loosely stretched rope is very apt to lead the student to 
think of sound waves as transverse instead of longitudinal. 
To find accurate and suitable illustrations is not always easy, 
but when unsatisfactory ones must be employed the teacher 
should use the greatest care that the inaccuracy is not per- 
mitted to suggest false implications to the student. Sche- 
matic drawings, idealized pictures, and simplified or enlarged 



114 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

models serve a real purpose in instruction, but the student 
must be made to appreciate them as such. What is to the 
teacher obviously schematic, idealized, or simplified may by 
the inexperienced and uncritical student be taken for an 
approximately accurate representation. 

Thirdly, the illustration should be as simple as is con- 
sistent with accuracy and adequacy. If it is well chosen and 
presented, the vital point to be illustrated will stand out 
prominently and clearly, v/ith no occasion for the unessential 
and incidental being mistaken for the fundamental. Many 
an illustration otherwise excellent is unsuitable for the high 
school student because of its complexity, leading to confusion 
rather than clarifying of thought. Better one or two helpful 
illustrations well understood than a wealth of confusing ones. 
Moreover, an illustration may be so striking or interesting in 
itself as to distract the student's interest from the thing to be 
illustrated to the illustration itself. How often the school- 
boy, when told to observe the circulation of the blood under 
the microscope, is so attracted by the shining brass and 
curious mechanism of the instrument that he fails to see the 
blood circulation at all. He looks not through the micro- 
scope but at it. 

One phase of the problem of the simplicity of illustration 
is the function and merit of specimens, illustrative apparatus 
and models, pictures, diagrams, and maps, when used as 
illustrative material. It is clear that all five serve to 
strengthen the imagery and hence to deepen the impression 
made. However, apart from the degree to which they serve 
this purpose, these five types of illustration differ essentially 
as regards the conditions to which they are adapted. For the 
purpose of acquainting the student with an object in its 
entirety, its general appearance, or character, the specimen 
or, if this is not available, the picture is the natural type of 
illustration. On the other hand, the diagram, including the 
map as one of its special forms, is used to show in isolation a 
particular relationship between the parts of an object or sys- 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT I15 

tern. The apparatus partakes somewhat 01 the nature of 
both specimen and diagram, since it is designed to combine 
the objectivity of the former with the isolation of specific 
features which characterizes the latter. Thus the require- 
ment of simplicity of illustration has various applications, 
according to the aim to be realized. In general it may be 
said that the picture (including the word-picture) may offer 
so many details as to distract the student's attention. Para- 
doxical though the statement may seem, a picture may offer 
to the student more of detail than the specimen itself, since 
the inclusion of details in the picture impKes their importance, 
whereas when confronted by the specimen the student recog- 
nizes the necessity of distinguishing for himself between the 
essential and the incidental. On the other hand, when first 
encountering an object or problem for study, especially if a 
somewhat complex one, it is usually best to illustrate first by 
diagram the relationship to be observed, and later to study 
the specimen itself as soon as the student is ready to interpret 
what he sees. Generally speaking, that diagram or map is 
best which shows only the essentials of the relationship to be 
illustrated, that apparatus is best which shows the process or 
object with the fewest distracting features, and that picture 
or specimen is best in which the essential features, while 
typical, are most readily and simply recognized. 

A fourth requirement of the illustration is that it shall be 
significant. Every teacher has been impressed with the fre- 
quency with which students when tested seem able to tell 
everything about an illustration except what it was intended 
to illustrate. The concrete instance offered was simple and 
interesting, but no serious effort had been made to advance 
beyond the concrete to the generalizations. To the pupil 
who does not infer from the erosion of the Niagara gorge to 
the phenomenon of erosion in general, the intended illustra- 
tion has really illustrated nothing. In other words, the illus- 
tration is not significant. No less real, though less extreme 
and less obvious, is the case of the student who can state, 



Il6 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

usually in a formal way, the generalization derived, but when 
asked to illustrate it can cite only the illustration suggested 
in the class exercise. He has failed to catch the implication 
of the principle involved, or what is essentially the same, has 
attempted to generalize from a single instance. Investigation 
will usually show that his so-called generalization means to 
him not a general principle but a formalized statement of the 
chief feature of the illustration studied. It was an illustra- 
tion which to the student had little or no significance. Call- 
ing upon the student to suggest illustrations when the prin- 
ciple is being developed, as well as later, will assist both in 
rendering them significant and in testing for a knowledge of 
that significance. 

Illustration and Analogy. — Between illustration and anal- 
ogy it is difficult to draw the line, if indeed a line of distinc- 
tion exists. Both provide concrete instances which are to 
assist in interpreting relationships. However, in the case of 
the illustration, the instance belongs truly under the class 
concerning which the generalization is made, whereas in the 
analogy the relationships compared are similar in some con- 
spicuous feature, but the instances cited cannot be classed 
together for the generalization, since in some essential points 
they are different. The mathematical analogy given on 
page io8, wherein algebraic multiplication is compared to 
arithmetical, cannot itself be employed as an illustration of 
the latter, since, for the student at least, it deals with a differ- 
ent kind of material. It is therefore essential that in the 
use of the analogy the pupil be not permitted to mistake it 
for an illustration, since such a mistake would lead to a false 
generalization. 

Student Contribution. — We have suggested three general 
principles of development in instruction: procedure from 
known to unknown, simple to complex, and concrete through 
abstract to concrete. There remains for our consideration a 
fourth principle, the importance of the student ^s contribution. 
In a previous chapter, as indeed throughout the book, we 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT IT 7 

have emphasized the activity of the student as the basis of 
all learning. Unless the class participates almost constantly 
in the development, instruction loses its distinguishing virtue 
and falls back to the level of lecturing. The pupil who has 
supplied data or suggestions in the class discussion, whether 
he derived them from his past experience, his independent 
thought, or even his finding of them in the book before him, 
feels in consequence a real part in the lesson development, 
and will receive a correspondingly greater benefit. The im- 
portance of drawing out the students and challenging them 
into active contribution is more easy to preach than to prac- 
tise. Its difficulty is no excuse for its neglect, though it cer- 
tainly is a prolific cause for it in our secondary schools. To 
suggest how to secure this student participation in the devel- 
opment of the lesson would be but to repeat what has already 
been said, in almost every chapter, on the subject of class 
activity. All we can do here, therefore, is to emphasize anew 
its importance in the lesson development as the sine qua non 
of developmental instruction. 

The same principle of student activity which renders 
development instruction so serviceable also warns against the 
error of overinstruction. In the effort to develop new ma- 
terial, and in the enthusiasm of its movement and activity, 
the teacher is in danger of losing sight of the reciprocal func- 
tion of the class, and doing with and for the student what the 
student should do alone and for himself. The class exercise 
should not be taken as the sole learning activity. On the 
contrary, it should give the student the impetus, the capacity, 
and to some degree the materials for work, but so far as pos- 
sible should leave to him the actual work. Instruction 
should invariably develop in the student initiative and power 
of self-direction, and the class exercise should merely start, 
not complete, the activity of learning. Working out the 
demonstration of all the advance propositions or exercises in 
mathematics, translating the advance lesson in Latin, or sup- 
plying the details of the advance lesson in history would tend 



Il8 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

to render the students not independent but dependent, not 
pushers but leaners. 

Applicability of Lesson Development. — Recalling the 
statement, made at the beginning of the chapter, that develop- 
ment is the method of teaching new material, or advance 
work, it must be realized that not all material needs to be 
taught. Not infrequently the new material is so simple in 
character and so easily understood that it needs little or no 
teaching by the instructor. Often it consists of material the 
independent working out of which is within the student^s 
capacity and is of its greatest educational value only as it is 
so mastered by the student without help or hint from the 
instructor. With few exceptions, such material will involve 
not new methods or principles but new examples and applica- 
tions of methods and principles already developed in the 
classroom. The original exercise in geometry, the transla- 
tion of a passage in Latin, the interpretation of a complex 
chemical reaction, or the tracing of the military manoeuvres 
in a battle would usually fall under this type of new material, 
and would at most justify occasional hints from the teacher 
to help over points of especial difficulty. Such hints, if likely 
to be needed by a large part of the students, may best be 
given in the assignment, otherwise as individual assistance to 
students, especially in the form of supervised study. (C/. page 
241.) 

4. Typical Forms of Development 

Books on teaching usually devote much attention to what 
are known as the Socratic, the heuristic, and the lecture 
methods of instruction. This emphasis has done much good, 
yet not a little harm, the latter being due mainly to a failure 
to appreciate the spirit of the three types. Moreover, their 
difference is found to be more seeming than real when they 
are properly understood and employed. 

Socratic Method. — In the Socratic method the instruction 
takes the form of a cleverly directed dialogue, in which there 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT II9 

are put to the student questions the answering of which 
suggests to him implications of which he was hitherto un- 
conscious. The instructor tells but little, restricting his 
activities to a series of questioning which the student blindly 
follows to an outcome which not he but the teacher had 
anticipated. The following selection, in which Socrates is 
leading his followers to a definition of justice, illustrates the 
use of the Socratic method as practised by the philosopher 
himself. 



What was our definition, Polemarchus? 

That a friend is one who seems to be an honest man. 

And what is to be our new definition? 

That a friend is one who not only seems to be, but really is, an 
honest man; whereas the man who seems to be, but is not honest, is 
not really a friend, but only seems one. And I define an enemy on 
the same principle. 

Then by this way of speaking, the good man will, in all likelihood, 
be a friend, and the wicked an enemy. 

Yes. 

Then you would have us attach to the idea of justice more than 
we at first included in it, when we called it just to do good to our 
friend and evil to our enemy. We are now, if I understand you, to 
make an addition to this, and render it thus — ^it is just to do good to 
our friend if he is a good man, and to hurt our enemy if he is a bad 
man. 

Precisely so, he replied; and I think that this would be a right 
statement. 

Now is it the act of a just man, I asked, to hurt anybody ? 

Certainly it is, he replied; that is to say, it is his duty to hurt those 
who are both wicked, and enemies of his. 

Are horses made better, or worse, by being hurt? 

Worse. 

Worse with reference to the excellence of dogs, or that of horses? 

That of horses. 

Are dogs in the same way made worse by being hurt, with refer- 
ence to the excellence of dogs, and not of horses ? 

Unquestionably they are. 

And must we not, on the same principle, assert, my friend, that 
men, by being hurt, are lowered in the scale of human excellence ? 

Indeed we must. 



I20 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

But is not justice a human excellence? 

Undoubtedly it is. 

And therefore, my friend, those men who are hurt must needs be 
rendered less just. 

So it would seem. 

Can musicians, by the art of music, make men unmusical? 

They cannot. 

Can riding-masters, by the art of riding, make men bad riders ? 

No. 

But if so, can the just by justice make men unjust ? In short, can 
the good by goodness make men bad? 

No, it is impossible. 

True, for if I am not mistaken, it is the property, not of warmth 
but of its opposite, to make things cold. 

Yes. 

And it is the property not of drought, but of its opposite, to make 
things wet. 

Certainly. 

Then it is the property not of good, but of its opposite, to hurt. 

Apparently it is. 

Well, is the just man good ? 

Certainly he is. 

Then, Polemarchus, it is the property, not of the just man, but of 
his opposite, the unjust man, to hurt either friend or any other creature. 

You seem to me to be perfectly right, Socrates. 

Hence if any one asserts that it is just to render to every man his 
due, and if he understands by this that what is due on the part of the 
just man is injurious to his enemies, and assistance to his friends, the 
assertion is that of an unwise man. For the doctrine is untrue; be- 
cause we have discovered that, in no instance, is it just to injure any- 
body. 

I grant you are right.* 

While the Socratic method possesses some real merit, it 
nevertheless has a decided limitation and a serious danger. 
In the first place, the limitation of its content to the replies 
of the student restricts its applicability to only a few fields 
of study. Its data are merely the student's own experience, 
limited at best, and thus rendering the method almost wholly 

*The selection here quoted is taken from Book I of the "Republic," 
by Plato, Davies and Vaughn's translation. 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT 121 

unsuited to such studies as history, foreign languages, and 
the natural sciences. Its danger, moreover, lies in its ten- 
dency to relapse into a mere intellectual assenting by the 
student to certain propositions suggested by the teacher, 
even though disguised by being cast in the form of grammati- 
cal questions. The teacher imagines that he is asking, 
whereas he is actually telling in a roundabout way. Unless 
skilfully employed, the Socratic method neglects the stu- 
dent's activity by its blind leading and its suggestive ques- 
tioning. 

Heuristic Method. — In the heuristic method the plan is to 
induce the student to find out for himself, instead of telling 
him the answers to his problems. The purpose is to con- 
stantly shift the activity from teacher to student, thus creat- 
ing the atmosphere of discovery. The leading merit of this 
method is its emphasis on the activity and initiative secured 
on the part of the student, and is thus a reaction against the 
too common fault of doing for the student what the student 
should learn to do for himself. Like the Socratic method, 
the heuristic method has its limitations and dangers. No 
small part of the suitable content of secondary education is 
of such a character that he cannot discover it for himself. 
Telling a boy to see what the text-book says at the top of a 
specified page cannot properly be called "heuristic." The 
true discoverer does not walk in a beaten and prescribed path, 
but must in some measure blaze his own trail. Too much of 
what is called heuristic is quite unworthy of the name. More- 
over, a moment's reflection will suffice to show the fallacy of 
the notion that the high school student is in the heuristic 
method putting himself in the place of the original discoverer. 
Professor De Garmo points out three bases of difference be- 
tween the two. "In determining the whereabouts of the 
student in the domain of knowledge, we have first to consider 
that he stands at the frontiers of his own knowledge, not at 
those of the race. The answers to his problems are known, 
presumably to the teacher, at any rate to somebody; whereas 



122 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the answers to the problems of the investigator are yet to be 
learned. . . . The investigator, with a mind already stored 
with knowledge, who has worked for months and even years 
to establish a set of causal relations or to demonstrate a law, 
has no difficulty in remembering what he has proved, first, 
because of the vividness of his conceptions, and, second, 
because of their limited scope. But the high school student, 
who must recapitulate in a brief time at least an epitome of 
the acquisitions of the race, finds it difficult to make one 
small head carry all he learns. . . . The investigator needs 
no such admonition, for he gains efficiency through his re- 
search. The student, however, is confronted with a double 
difiiculty; for, on the one hand, his researches are numerous 
and quickly made, so that the time and repetition needed for 
gaining a high degree of efiiciency are denied him, while, on 
the other hand, he must acquire large amounts of knowledge 
without even the form of research.''^ True, this mood of the 
student may most profitably be that of the investigator, and 
the lessons of self-reKance and initiative to be learned by 
heuristic study are invaluable. However, it is an abuse 
rather than a use of the heuristic to fail to give the student 
in his investigations the benefit of the choice of methods 
which the original investigator has worked out as most fruit- 
ful and direct. 

Lecture Method. — The lecture method of instruction in 
the high school has never been in good repute. Its introduc- 
tion into secondary instruction can mainly be laid at the door 
of inexperienced college-trained teachers, who, thinking of 
education from the point of view of content rather than of 
student, naturally employ the methods they last saw in use 
in their own college experience. The lecture method is weak- 
est where the heuristic method is strong, in that in the lecture 
the student is almost wholly a passive recipient, with no 
activity of reconstruction or expressive application. So much 
more ground can be covered in this way that the teacher too 

^ De Garmo, "Principles of Secondary Education," 11, pp. 67, 69, 74. 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT I23 

often imagines he is making great headway, whereas for want 
of expression he is making but little impression, and ultimately 
he blames his class for failure to work, when the trouble is 
that he gave them nothing to do. Thus, the weakness of lec- 
turing to high school students is essentially the weakness of 
wrong distribution of activity between teacher and class, 
which we considered in our fourth chapter. 

In general we may say that all three methods — the Socratic, 
the heuristic, and the lecture — are by no means universally 
applicable in the high school. Each, however, has its signifi- 
cance and function. As a means of stimulating the student 
to reflect upon his experiences, the Socratic method is often 
serviceable. In leading him to make his own discoveries and 
to develop initiative in thought, the heuristic attitude is 
essential. In giving to a class material which is otherwise 
inaccessible, or the search for which would be a poor economy, 
a limited degree of lecturing is occasionally of real service, 
subject ever to the condition that the student thinks as he 
is being lectured to, and that thought is given immediate 
and adequate opportunity for expression. 

5. The Place of Development in the Class Exercise 

Relation to Recitation. — In our treatment of the propae- 
deutic function of the recitation element, we have implicitly 
determined the place of the development activity. As the 
recitation serves to render fresh in consciousness the material 
for the starting-point of the advance work, so the principle 
of the procedure from the known to the unknown would 
imply that development would normally follow recitation. 
In Herbartian methodolog}^, inductive development would 
correspond in a general way to the three steps of presentation, 
comparison, and generalization. However, our use of the 
term is broader than the Herbartian, since it covers not 
merely inductive procedure but all the forms of problematic 
and appreciation instruction. 



124 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The requirement that development shall follow recitation 
does not imply that all of the recitation shall have been com- 
pleted before the development can begin, though such is, in 
some studies at least, the more natural procedure. What is 
meant is that recitation is to be the first step in a sequence in 
which development is the second. It may be that only a 
small section of the prepared lesson is recited upon, and then 
is at once followed by the development of the new material 
for which it is the preparation. This in turn may be followed 
by its application and expression, and then by the recitation 
upon further old material, or its application and expression 
may be postponed until further recitation and development 
have been introduced. In not a few cases, the recitation and 
development may be so blended as to be almost indistinguish- 
able. Some of the best teaching the author ever observed, 
more especially in linguistic and literary studies, has been of 
this latter type. It is, however, subject to the danger of 
deteriorating into mere recitation with commentary by the 
instructor, and with but little training in the logical develop- 
ment of thought. 

A few examples will perhaps serve to show more clearly 
the relationship between recitation and development. In 
teaching the factoring of expressions of the x^ -|- x^y^ + y* 
type, the recitation would naturally be upon the factoring of 
such expressions as x^ -{- 2xy -h y^ — z^, which presumably 
had formed the basis of the home study in preparation for 
the day's lesson. The axiom that ^^if equals be added to 
equals the sums are equal" might also be recalled. Then, 
after the recitation, including board work and the clearing 
up of difficulties, the new type of expression is presented and 
the activity of the class is challenged by the announcement 
that its factoring involves no method or principle which is 
essentially new. The development of the solution will follow. 
In this case the two steps of recitation and development are 
distinct and successive. v 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT I25 

With a class in American history, the lesson prepared for 
the day may have dealt with several only partially related 
topics, such as John Brown's raid, the first election of Lincoln 
as President, the beginning of the secession movement, and 
the firing upon Fort Sumter. These would naturally form 
the content for the recitation procedure. Out from each of 
these in order, however, the related topic or topics next to 
be studied might profitably be developed immediately, before 
the recitation and development based upon the succeeding 
topic are undertaken. Thus, the recitation upon John 
Brown's raid might be followed by the development of its 
effect upon Southern sentiment toward the abolition move- 
ment in the North; then might come the recitation upon 
Lincoln's election, followed by the development of its effect 
upon Southern hopes for the permanency of slavery as a 
national institution, and so on. 

In the study of a hterary selection, the two types of proce- 
dure might be even more intimately interwoven. Recitation 
upon facts and impressions derived from the study of the 
selection might almost constantly be expanded by further 
and more intensive consideration, or by an attempt to secure 
the appreciation of that which hitherto had been studied 
primarily for content. 

Relation to Assignment. — The lesson development has 
essentially to do with the work which the student is to pre- 
pare for the following class exercise, and is therefore closely 
related to the lesson assignment. Indeed, the development 
is not infrequently known as the lesson assignment, although 
strict adherence to the meaning of the words would give to 
the latter term a far narrower denotation than to the former. 
Strictly speaking, the assignment refers to that part of the 
instruction in which the work for the student to do in prep- 
aration for the next day is formally stated, whereas the 
development is an instruction process, working out in the 
class exercise the general principles or data which form the 



126 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Starting-point or basis for the pupiFs home study. The func- 
tion of the lesson assignment as a part of the lesson will 
receive fuller treatment in a subsequent chapter. 

We have seen that the development instruction may take 
either of two forms, according to the character of the situa- 
tion from which the thought of the lesson proceeds and the 
student's response to it. To each of these forms of develop- 
ment, the problematic mode and the appreciation mode, we 
must give special consideration, in the two chapters which 
follow. 

6. Summary 

In dealing with advance work in instruction, the proce- 
dure consists of four steps: the student's knowledge of the 
new situation, its appeal to him, his response to it, and his 
expression and application of that response. The response 
may be of either the intellectual or the appreciation type. 

Lesson development is the inducing and directing of that 
response, and involves joint activity on the part of both 
class and instructor. 

Development instruction should accord wholly or in part 
with four general principles: (i) It should proceed from the 
known to the unknown. Analogy, when used with discrimi- 
nation, serves in such procedure. (2) It should proceed from 
the simple to the complex. (3) It should proceed from the 
concrete through the abstract to the concrete. The use of 
illustration is a form of such procedure, and is of especial 
value when the illustration is familiar, accurate, simple, and 
significant. (4) The class must participate actively in the 
development. 

The Socratic, heuristic, and lecture methods are not 
sharply distinct from each other and even less from the devel- 
opment procedure. The essential features of each are respec- 
tively the provocation of student thought by a chain of ques-^ 
tioning, the attitude of discovery on the part of the student, 



LESSON DEVELOPMENT 12 7 

and the extended oral supplying of data to the class by the 
instructor. 

The place of development in the class exercise is naturally 
after the recitation procedure, although often interwoven 
with it. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. The term "development" is bj' some writers restricted to that 
form of instruction wherein the teacher by skilful questioning merely 
brings to the child's consciousness the implications of what he already 
knows. Wherein is the term used more inclusively in this chapter? 

2. Why would it not be better not to employ development, but 
instead to merely direct the student to learn the lesson out of the 
book ? Would such procedure tend to increase or decrease the degree 
of mechanical memorizing of lessons? 

3. "Proceed from the known to the unknown." In the study of 
the conjugation in Latin or French, how might this principle find appli- 
cation ? 

4. An algebra teacher, developing the concept of positive and 
negative numbers, likened their relation to that of a balloon carrying 
ballast; also to a children's seesaw. Discuss the pedagogic merit of 
each analogy. 

5. Many text-books are arranged to introduce each new topic 
with a formal statement of the principle to be taught, followed by 
illustrations, and then by problems. Criticise this arrangement. 
Examine some standard text-books for examples of such arrangement. 

6. Is there danger of giving too many illustrations of a principle? 
How many illustrations should be given? 

7. In developing the topics of glacial erosion, or of taxation without 
representation, or of the use of conditional clauses in some foreign 
language, what illustrations would you use in each case? 

8. Suggest some material which might better not be developed 
but instead left for the student to master independently. 

9. Some writers advise teachers to place the development at the 
beginning of the class hour, and to follow it with the recitation pro- 
cedure. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of so doing. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Dewey, "How We Think," chap. I. 

Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chaps. XII, XVIII. 

Bagley, "Educative Process," chap. XVII. 



128 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Colvin, "An Introduction to High School Teaching," chap. XII. 
Adams, "Exposition and Illustration," especially chaps. VIII-XVI. 
De Garmo, "Principles of Secondary Education, Processes of I 

struction," chaps. VIII, XI. 
De Garmo, "Interest and Education," chap. XI. 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 
I. Character and Function 

Meaning of Problem. — In the preceding chapter we ob- 
served that in the development of new material there are in- 
volved the three elements which we call the student's knowl- 
edge of the situation, its appeal to him, and his response to it. 
Although there is necessarily a certain degree of expression 
involved in these three steps, and especially the third, the 
expression-application as a distinct procedure specifically 
provided for may best be treated as a distinct step following 
from the development rather than as constituting a part of 
it. When the response was essentially an intellectual one, 
involving knowledge or thought rather than feeling as its 
essential feature, the mode of development was called the 
problematic mode. This must not be taken to mean that 
the response alone is the problematic mode; rather, the whole 
procedure, including all the three elements of development 
just mentioned, is the problematic mode of development 
when the response is of this intellectual character. 

The word ^'problem'' as used in reference to instruction 
has a meaning somewhat broader than that which is fre- 
quently attributed to it. Whenever the student feels that the 
situation confronting him is one that demands his thought 
and study, one which challenges him to find out or think out 
something, to attain to a knowledge or conclusion not yet 
attained to, that situation is to him a problematic one. With 
Professor Dewey, we would apply the term to "whatever — 
no matter how slight and commonplace in character — per- 
plexes and challenges the mind so that it makes belief uncer- 

129 



130 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

tain,"^ meaning thereunder to include any situation which 
impels the student to discover more facts about it, or to think 
out its implications, whether as generalization or as concrete 
application. ^'The problem," says Professor De Garmo, *'is 
well-nigh universal in every field of endeavor, educational 
and vocational, for whenever the adjustment of thought to 
fact or of fact to thought is involved, there the problem lies 
close at hand. That it is of supreme educational importance 
in the sciences cannot be doubted; it is equally serviceable in 
the humanities whenever the student should be incited to 
think. History easily resolves itself into a series of problems 
respecting cause and effect. Every literary masterpiece 
fairly bristles with problems psychological, social, ethical, and 
linguistic. Even the purely aesthetic, whose appreciation is 
usually considered to rest upon contemplation alone, is greatly 
aided by intellectual comprehension, which always permits 
the problem form." ^ 

Repeatedly the reader has been reminded of the impor- 
tance of student activity; that the student must be in the 
attitude of the aggressive seeker after knowledge and power, 
and not a mere passive recipient. In the problematic mode, 
therefore, the first condition for learning must be the problem 
attitude on the part of the student. This involves an open- 
mindedness for the recognition of problems, and a determina- 
tion to solve them. To too many people, the situations of 
life are but matter-of-fact things, to be gotten on with in the 
easiest way. To the student these must, to use Professor De 
Garmo 's expression, fairly bristle with problems which de- 
mand consideration. The boy who sees in the compass needle 
merely a toy or a useful instrument will learn nothing from 
the compass. Only when its workings set him to thinking 
and finding out will the compass be an educative agency for 
him. The ability to develop this attitude of mind on the 

1 Dewey, "How We Think," p. 9. 

* De Garmo, " Principles of Secondary Education, Processes of Instruc- 
tion," II, pp. 23-24. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 131 

part of his class is vital for the effectual teacher, and for the 
student the attitude is a prophecy of success within and 
without the school. 

School work abounds in problems. Thus, the history- 
student desiring a better understanding of the battle of Gettys- 
burg will want to know the topography of the battle-field, 
the relative strength and positions of the opposing armies, 
and the strategic aims of the commanding generals. These 
and related data constitute for him what might be termed a 
'^finding-out'' problem. Somewhat different is the case of 
the student in physics who from his study of the appropriate 
apparatus before him is seeking to discover a general law for 
the relation between the length of pendulum and its rate of 
\dbration. Here we find a "thinking-out" problem, obvi- 
ously of a higher intellectual order than the preceding, and 
involving the logical procedure of induction. A third type 
of problem is that of the algebra student who, knowing that 
the difference of the squares of two quantities is the product 
of the sum and difference of the quantities, is endeavoring to 
factor the expression a^ — b^ — 2hc — c^. His problem, too, 
is one to be "thought-out," but the thinking in this case is 
deductive. 

Relation of the Three Types of Problem. — Problems are 
thus seen to be of the three types: informational, inductive, 
and deductive. The first concerns itself with the discovery 
of concrete data, the second with the derivation of abstract 
principles from those data, and the third with the application 
of those principles to further concrete situations. Any one 
of the three may, as we have seen, constitute a problem for 
the student. All three of them form a series of thought such 
as we observed in Chapter VII,^ where it was seen that the 
true pedagogical procedure in developmental instruction is 
from the concrete through the abstract and back again to the 
concrete. Each of the three may thus be itself problematic 
and at the same time propaedeutic to the further procedure in 

»P. no. 



132 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the thought series just mentioned or in further series proceed- 
ing from it. 

2. Sources of Information 

First in order of sequence, though not of educational 
value, is that type of problematic procedure which we have 
termed the informational problem. Whether the student in- 
tends to employ that information as the basis for a subse- 
quent induction or seeks it merely to gratify a desire for 
knowledge about something in which he has an interest, his 
*' finding-out '' procedure is essentially the same. 

Telling, Reading, and Discovery. — The schoolboy gets his 
knowledge of the world in three ways: somebody tells him, 
he reads it, or he discovers it for himself. In the classroom 
these three sources of information are still the fundamental 
ones: the telling by the teacher, the reading of the text-book, 
and the observation by the student. The two first named 
constitute authority in instruction, whereas in the third the 
student goes for his data directly to the originals, in so far as 
these are accessible and interpretable for him. Of these 
sources of information, at least the first two and often all 
three are available in teaching. However, each has its merits 
and its limitations, its advantages and disadvantages, to be 
taken into account in determining which source shall be em- 
ployed in any particular instance. 

Telling by the teacher as a source of the student's infor- 
mation has long been the object of severe criticism. The 
chief objection raised, and one not without justification, is 
the danger that it will resolve itself into a one-sided activity, 
with the teacher doing all the work and the class remaining 
passive and inert. The danger is real but not so fundamental 
that it cannot be met. True, it is so easy for the teacher to 
seemingly impart knowledge by telling that he often over- 
looks the response of his class. However, it is often possible 
to so "teir' students that they are constantly active and on 
the alert, responding in thought and even in word to what 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 133 

the teacher is relating. "Telling" when such an atmosphere 
as this prevails is not harmful, and may be employed at 
times to excellent advantage. 

Of the advantages of the "telling" procedure in instruc- 
tion, probably the most significant is its adaptability to the 
special needs of the situation. The teacher, knowing what 
he intends to accomplish by the lesson in hand, is able to 
select and organize his data for the best realization of his 
specific aim, and to present it at what might be called the 
"psychological moment" for its educational effectiveness. 

A second advantage and one that plays a real part in the 
deepening of impressions made lies in the vivacity and per- 
sonal responsiveness which may characterize such presenta- 
tion. We are glad to spend a dollar to hear a lecture deliv- 
ered, even though we know that a few hours later we could 
read the same address in the daily newspaper at negligible 
expense. So the teacher, if possessed of the capacity for 
"telling," can thus vitalize matter which if first read by the 
student would be dull and uninteresting. We might advan- 
tageously adopt the practice of the Germans in including 
in teacher- training the development of power to "tell" and 
even the untrained teacher can, by observation, practice, and 
sympathy with students, increase greatly his efficiency in this 
direction, to the delight of both himself and his pupils. 

A further advantage of the "telling" procedure lies in 
economy of time. Many facts are not easily accessible for 
the student, so that his expenditure of time and effort in 
finding them more than offsets the advantage of his activity 
in the finding. While ever mindful of the danger of doing 
the pupil's work for him and of mistaking haste for progress, 
still we must realize that any procedure which can effect a 
real economy of time in instruction has a positive pedagogical 
function. 

The second source of information for the student is the 
text-book, with the supplementary books of reference. The 
old conception of the class exercise as a place for reciting 



134 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

memorized material instead of for learning has tended toward 
the banishment of the text-book from the classroom for all 
purposes save that of an exercise book. Few teachers really 
know how to use the text-book in the class exercise, failing 
to differentiate between its use and its abuse. 

As a source of information in instruction, the text-book 
has three real advantages. First, it represents, or is supposed 
to represent, a higher quality of presentation and exposition 
than that of which the average teacher is capable, so that 
when his own exposition proves inadequate or he wishes to 
follow it up with one which is better as a final form, recourse 
to the text-book is occasionally of real service. A second 
advantage lies in the fact that the material of the text is 
available for reference for the student when in his study he 
seeks to recall the material developed in the classroom. What 
the teacher tells is told but once; what the text-book tells is 
accessible at will. The third advantage is derived from the 
appeal to the visual as well as to the auditory. What one 
sees on the printed page comes into consciousness by a dif- 
ferent avenue of entrance, the eye rather than the ear, thus 
deepening the impression, especially in the case of visually 
minded students. 

The information material thus far discussed has been 
that based upon authority. The third type, that derived 
from the student's own experience and observation, has, when 
available, merits which give it first place in order of educa- 
tional value. When the observation is made in the class 
exercise or laboratory, and is therefore purposive and directed, 
it tends to develop in the student a high degree of self-reliance 
and power of observation, qualities which are by some con- 
sidered the most valuable products of education. In such 
case, the student feels the interest of investigation, which 
forms the basis for problematic study. And whether the 
observation be made during the class exercise or in the earlier 
experience of the pupil, its concreteness and personal element 
increase greatly the depth of the impression made by the 
instruction based upon it. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE I35 

Emplojonent of the Sources. — Simple though the informa- 
tion procedure may appear, a few suggestions regarding its 
employment in instruction may be of value. 

'^ Telling" by the teacher is always in danger of deteriorat- 
ing into a one-sided activity with the students almost wholly 
passive, often uninterested, and the instructor reciting pho- 
nograph-like a series of facts for the class to memorize. 
Skilful ''telling" is such that the demand is created before it 
is suppHed; the class want to know before they are told. 
Herein lies one of the most potent forces which can be em- 
ployed in the arousal of student interest and activity. The 
class should be induced to ask questions, the answers to which 
involve the information to be conveyed. Thought should 
stimulate thought, questions should stimulate answers, and 
answers further questions. 

In harmony with the above are Professor Dewey's three 
requirements of ''telling" in instruction, "(i) The commu- 
nication of material should be needed. That is to say, it 
should be such as cannot be readily attained by personal 
observation. ... (ii) Material should be suppHed by way 
of stimulus, not with dogmatic finality and rigidity. When 
pupils get the notion that any field of study has been defi- 
nitely surveyed, that knowledge about it is exhaustive and 
final, they may continue docile pupils, but they cease to be 
students. . . . (iii) The material furnished by way of in- 
formation should be relevant to a question that is vital in 
the student's own experience. Instruction on subject mat- 
ter that does not fit into any problem already stirring in the 
student's own experience, or that is not presented in such a 
way as to arouse a problem, is worse than useless for intellec- 
tual purposes." 1 

But good "telling" concerns not content alone but 
method. Attention must be given not merely to what we 
tell but to the manner and form of the telling. The teacher 
should train himself in narration, description, and exposition. 
He should be able to recount an event or paint a word-picture 
^ Dewey, "How We Think," pp. 198-199. 



136 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

SO clearly and vividly and with such balance of accent and 
feeling that the class really see the original through his eyes 
and catch the spirit of his observation and interpretation. 
For this he will need a certain degree of vividness of imagina- 
tion and sympathy of manner which are the product not 
merely of native abiHty but, to no small degree, of training 
as well. Exposition, dealing more with logical relationships, 
demands a thorough understanding of the content and its 
organization. Clearness of thinking is a prerequisite of clear- 
ness of exposition, and much of the weakness of exposition in 
instruction can be traced back to the fact that the instructor 
did not know exactly what he wished to say and how to say 
it. A habit of careful and full outlining of his material both 
in his preparation and in his instruction will usually prove of 
value in securing clarity of exposition. 

When shall the teacher read to his class, rather than 
**tell"? In view of the greater interest and vividness of the 
told than of the read, it is evident that other things being 
equal, telling is better than reading. However, we have 
seen that reading has its merits as well as its demerits, and 
that one of the former is the possibility of better form of 
expression. In general, unless the written (or printed) form 
is conspicuously better than the spoken form of the teacher's 
instruction, or the form of expression is one of the vital con- 
siderations in the material, it is better to tell than to read. 
Not infrequently, however, especially in literary and lin- 
guistic study, the form is an essential or is so far superior to 
the teacher's telling that the reading is helpful and justified. 

We have seen that one advantage of the text-book as a 
source of information lies in its availability for reference in 
subsequent study. This disadvantage of the * Helling" pro- 
cedure can in some measure be offset by requiring students 
to take notes upon what they are told. Such notes, when the 
student has been shown how to take them and use them, 
may be of great value to him in his study by recalling to him 
both the content and the organization of the study material 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE I37 

as developed in the class exercise. Note-taking has the fur- 
ther value of calling the class to activity; not merely the 
physical activity of writing, which for high school students 
is of positive service, but the mental activity of selecting, 
organizing, and formulating, which is one of the most bene- 
ficial forms of intellectual training. ^'No notes," says Pro- 
fessor Chubb, "are to be made for the sake of mere recall, 
but for the sake of the powers called into play in making 
them. In their simplest form, they should involve some 
selecting and organizing of data. These data should be 
organized in such a way as to tell their story by their appear- 
ance — clear heading and subheadings, and well-articulated 
outlines. . . . We must not overlook, however, the value of 
the mere writing up of rough notes as compelling the student 
to recall and rethink the living commentary and discussion 
of the class." ^ 

In the emplo5mLient of the third source of information, 
the pupiFs own observation, the teacher must guard himself 
against misconceptions regarding the meaning of student dis- 
covery. As we saw in our study of the heuristic method 
(Chapter VII, p. 121), the high school student is a discoverer 
in spirit only, rather than in fact. *^Does the pupil believe 
himself to be discovering the truth?" asks Professor Bagley. 
"Hiis is the essential point. As long as he is confident that 
he is discoverer, the essential condition of the development 
method has been fulfilled. In other words, it is the subjec- 
tive attitude of the pupil that is important rather than the 
objective process. '^^ In the strictest sense of the term, then, 
the high school student is rather the investigator than the 
discoverer, and the teacher must not expect him either to dis- 
cover in the same way that the original discoverer employed, 
or independently to find and select the materials wherewith 
to proceed. The problem, the method, and the instruments 
available for the student all presuppose procedure with a con- 

1 Chubb, "The Teaching of English," pp. 280-281. 
* Bagley, "Educative Process," p. 263. 



138 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

siderable degree of knowledge, of selected and adapted condi- 
tions, and an attempt to convert the high school pupil into 
the original discoverer is an unnecessarily wasteful procedure. 
Let him catch the spirit of investigation, and conduct it with 
the best aids available. When the bridge has once been 
built, it is thereafter unnecessary to ford the stream. 
- We have treated the three sources of information as 
though they were distinct, and have suggested how each may 
be employed. However, here as elsewhere in method, the 
instructor will employ any and all of the sources as occasion 
may demand. Skill in teaching consists in the ability not 
merely to choose but to S3Tithesize methods. So, in the 
same lesson there may be resort to telling by the teacher, 
reading by the student, and reporting of observation and 
experience by the class, the whole being blended in a synthe- 
sis of elements chosen each in response to a demand for which 
it is peculiarly adapted. 

It need scarcely be pointed out that the learning in the 
finding-out problem is based upon simple association. The 
situation which raises the problem has directly and simply 
associated with it the fact or idea which completes it as the 
solution of the problem. And however valuable the infor- 
mation acquired may be, it will be readily seen that the range 
of its application extends only over that comparatively lim- 
ited field in which the facts in question function. Informa- 
tion is far more narrow in its usefulness than is thought 
power, and the teacher must be on his guard lest he give 
undue attention to mere finding-out problems in teaching. 
The transfer of information, like the transfer of training, is 
possible only in so far as there are common elements between 
the known situation and the new one, and in information as 
compared with thought power the number of such elements 
is but small. The knowledge of the English equivalent for 
tuba or of the method of bisecting an arc, however useful, 
has far less range of application than the power to observe 
or to reason. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 139 



3. Composition of an Act of Thought 

The Steps in Thinking. — ^The problematic procedure with 
which we have just dealt is that in which the pupil acquires 
information, either by hearing it, reading it, or observing. 
It is essentially a problem of knowing. On a higher intellec- 
tual plane, and involving a far more difficult task, is the prob- 
lem which involves thinking out. It may be the derivation 
of a general principle from given concrete data, or it may be 
appHcation of a general principle in the solution of a particu- 
lar situation. In logical terms, the problem may be either 
inductive or deductive, or indeed may involve both logical 
processes. 

In all problematic procedure, a complete act of thought 
involves four fairly distinct steps. These are, first, the recog- 
nition and formulation of the problem;^ second, a tentative 
solution or h3^o thesis; third, reasoning out the implications 
of the solution, and, fourth, the verification. 

Stated in terms of the principle of association, we find 
that the problematic learning of the thought type involves a 
complex system of both association and dissociation, of analy- 
sis and synthesis. In the first of the four steps, the student 
encounters the situation as a unity, and proceeds to analyze 
out its problematic elements. In the formulation of the 
hypothesis, he associates tentatively these problematic ele- 
ments with others. The next step, the reasoning out of the 
implications, is essentially an analytic one, in which the syn- 
thesis thus formed is subjected to a further analysis. In the 
verification, the synthesis of the second step is reformed with 
new subordinate elements included. 

Thus, the questions the student asks are these: i. What 
is the problematic feature of this situation, and what is there 
problematic about it? 2. What combination of this prob- 

^ This step Dewey treats as two, which he calls a felt difficulty and its 
location and definition. Cf. Dewey, "How We Think," p. 72. 



I40 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

lematic feature with known data seems to satisfy? 3. What 
features are involved in this combination which might affect 
its validity? 4. With these newly considered features in- 
volved, can the old combination be satisfactorily reformed? 
As thus stated, the analysis-synthesis-analysis-synthesis move- 
ment of thought is isolated and rendered more evident for 
our study. 

The chemistry student, directing the hydrogen flame 
against a porcelain dish, sees the metallic mirror surface 
formed upon the dish. The problem occurs to him: "How 
can this happen? What is the cause of the phenomenon?" 
The tentative solution suggests itself: "Possibly the zinc used 
in the hydrogen generator contains arsenic, and the mirror 
surface is a deposit of arsenic." He proceeds to reason out 
the implications of this hypothesis, recalling that not only 
arsenic but antimony as well would deposit such a mirror, 
but that commercial zinc more often contains arsenic than 
antimony. Finally he verifies the arsenic hypothesis by dis- 
solving the metal in acid and treating it with hydrogen sulM, 
and thus identifies it as arsenic by the color of the precipitate. 

Literature offers its problems as well. In the reading of 
''Macbeth," the student raises the question whether Macbeth's 
hesitancy about killing Duncan is due to moral considera- 
tions or personal cowardice. He forms the hypothesis that 
it is due to cowardice alone. Reflection suggests to him that 
in such case the hesitancy would cease when Macbeth is 
shown that the act can be committed without danger of 
detection. However, an attempt at verification shows the 
inadequacy of the hypothesis, since Macbeth still hesitates 
despite this assurance. The student is thus compelled to 
revise his hypothesis, and to attribute Macbeth's conduct to 
a combination of both the motives mentioned. Reflection 
upon this new hypothesis suggests implications which both 
word and deed of Macbeth seem to justify, and this hypothe- 
sis, thus verified, is accepted by the student as the solution 
of the problem. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 141 

In the study of history, the student often encounters a 
problem in which he is led to form an anticipatory judgment 
of the outcome before that outcome itself has been encoun- 
tered. In the interpretation of a certain legislative action, 
he forms a hypothesis as to the economic disturbances that 
will follow. Finally, the further reading of the reference 
provides the basis for the verification of his anticipatory 
hypothesis. 

A problem from the study of Latin may suffice for further 
illustration. "Patriam cum severitate regam.'^ The begin- 
ning student is confronted by the problem whether "cum'* 
is here used as a preposition or as a conjunction. The fact 
that it is followed by an ablative suggests the hypothesis that 
the former is the case. Consideration of the implication 
shows that according to the hypothesis there could be but 
one verb in the sentence, whereas the use of "cum" as a con- 
junction would involve two verbs. The hypothesis is veri- 
fied by observation that but one verb is to be found in the 
sentence, and is further supported by the fact that that verb 
makes better sense as a future indicative than as a present 
subjunctive. 

The studies of the high school curriculum abound in 
problems such as these, though of widely differing degrees of 
complexity. Sometimes the hypothesis may take days in 
the formulation and weeks in the verification. Again, as in 
the case of the Latin illustration, it may occupy but a few 
minutes, and may be so simple that the student is unconscious 
of the fact that he has even formed an hypothesis. The dif- 
ference, however, is rather one of degree than of kind, for the 
logical procedure in a complete act of thought is always es- 
sentially the same. 

Induction and Deduction.—Books upon method have said 
much, possibly too much, on the subjects of induction and 
deduction in instruction. Teachers have been led to believe 
that in practice as well as in theory the two processes are to 
be sharply differentiated. Some have even gone so far as 



142 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

to treat them as two alternative methods of teaching any 
particular fact, and have declared that the inductive is the 
better and the one always to be selected. While not wholly 
false, such a doctrine is misleading to the teacher, and is 
based on an inadequate conception of the learning process. 
While the logician diifferentiates between inductive and deduc- 
tive reasoning for the purposes of his science, the student is 
constantly employing both, often inseparably, in the act of 
learning. Moreover, whether the learning is predominantly 
induction or deduction is determined by the character of the 
problem, whether the discovery of a general principle or the 
employment of a general principle or principles in the solu- 
tion of a particular problematic situation. 

Any step in the circle of thought is a problem in so far as 
it "perplexes and challenges the mind so that it makes belief 
at all uncertain.'^ ^ If the solution is more general than the 
data from which it arises, it is an inductive procedure. If it 
involves the application of general principles to cases which 
are less general, it is deductive. An entire act of thought 
may be predominantly either inductive or deductive on this 
same principle, though both types of thinking may be in- 
volved in either. Thus, the derivation of the law of falling 
bodies is an inductive problem, although some of the thinking 
involved is deductive. The proof that the diagonals of a 
parallelogram bisect each other is deductive reasoning, al- 
though there is somewhat of induction in the demonstration. 

4. Procedure in the Thought Type of the Problematic 

Mode 

We have seen that learning involves the three method fac- 
tors of acquisition, reflection, and application or expression, 
and can scarcely have failed to catch the inference that the 
first and second of these, the acquisition and the reflection, 
correspond to the informational and the thought types of 

1 Cf. p. 129. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE I43 

problematic procedure, as treated in the second and third 
sections of the present chapter. With the application and 
expression we will deal in a subsequent chapter. The re- 
quirements of the informational problem have already been 
considered at sufficient length. Partly because of its fre- 
quent use, partly because of its complexity, the reflective or 
thought problem is of special importance to the teacher in 
dealing with each of the four steps of thought^ and demands 
a large share of consideration at his hands. 

I. The Recognition and Formulation of the Problem. 
Definiteness of Problem. — ^A first essential of the problem is 
that it be definite. Not merely the teacher but the student 
as well must know definitely just what the problem is which 
confronts him. Doubtless if there is one difficulty which 
more than others hinders students in the solution of prob- 
lems, it is the failure to catch their meaning and implications. 
What was said earlier regarding the clarity of questions holds 
with equal force of problematic instruction, for although the 
responsibility for the deficiency may be differently placed, 
the defects in the solution are similar in character. Students 
are prone to undertake the answer of a question or problem 
before they really catch the force and significance of what is 
asked. Not merely does the practice of permitting this 
indefiniteness of problem thwart the accuracy of results, but 
it establishes in the student the unfortunate habit of engag- 
ing in undertakings hastily and without due consideration of 
what they are doing, a habit fatal not alone to scientific 
accuracy but to efficiency in all of life's activities. The stu- 
dent should early be led to realize that a start in the wrong 
direction merely adds to the distance to be travelled, and is 
thus worse than no start at all. 

One of the forms of such indefiniteness of problem is the 
failure to differentiate between inductive and deductive prob- 
lems of instruction. The distinction is one which constantly 
confronts the high school teacher, and unfamiliarity with 

' Cf. p. 139. 



144 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

which is a not infrequent source of inaccurate, unscientific 
instruction. 

The inductive problems of the high school curriculum are 
usually of two types, either the formation of a class for pur- 
poses of classification, or the discovery of a causal relation- 
ship.i The former type, which is based upon similarity, 
might be illustrated by the classification of prepositions 
according to the case which they govern or of rocks accord- 
ing to their crystalline structure. The second t3^e, based 
upon a relationship of causality, would include such cases as 
that of the discovery of the dependence of vibration rate of 
pendulum upon length of pendulum. Both types lead to the 
establishment of a class or principle which can be employed 
in the classification or explanation^ of a group of other indi- 
vidual cases not considered specifically in the course of the 
induction. 

The deductive problems are of various types, yet are all 
characterized by one distinguishing feature, viz.: the expla- 
nation of a given particular situation by means of the appli- 
cation of general principles already established. In algebra, 
the factoring of x^ -- y^ — ^y^z — 33/2^ — gs involves the 
problem of showing that it is the difference of two cubes, and 
that its factors are such as follow naturally from such a situ- 
ation. The problem of the explanation of the electric tele- 
graph is solved by showing that it is but an application of 
certain laws of electrical action. The demonstration of a 
geometrical proposition consists in pointing out that the 
conclusion is merely an implication of principles already well 
established. The interpretation of the manoeuvres of Lee's 
army at Gettysburg is possible only when they are seen to 
have been involved in the general plan of a Northern inva- 
sion. Stimulating a civics class to anticipate the effects of 

1 De Garmo, "Principles of Secondary Education, Processes of Instruc- 
tion," p. 77. 

2 The student of logic is already familiar with the fact that explana- 
tion is but a form of classification. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 45 

the direct election of United States senators is an appeal to 
deductive application of general civic principles to an imagined 
situation. 

The pedagogical importance of the distinction between 
induction and deduction, although commonly much overesti- 
mated, is nevertheless real. Both teacher and pupil should 
know definitely just what they are seeking in any problematic 
procedure in order that means may be adapted to end and 
that it may be known with assurance when the problem has 
been accurately solved. The student may not even know 
the meaning of the terms induction and deduction, but he 
should know definitely whether he is seeking a general prin- 
ciple or the explanation of a particular problematic situation. 
In an earlier chapter we saw how prone the student is to stop 
with the concrete illustration instead of going on to the 
abstract principle which it illustrates. This is evidently but 
another way of saying he does not realize that he is seeking a 
generalization rather than a particular fact, or, in other 
words, he is not aware of the inductive character of his prob- 
lem. On the other hand, the student is often satisfied with 
an inadequate explanation or demonstration because he fails 
to realize that the case involved in the problem is really a 
concrete application of the principles from which it is derived. 

If to the student, much more to the teacher is it essential 
that the type of problem be adequately understood, since the 
teacher is to be the stimulator of the problem and the guide 
in the quest for its solution. The errors into which he is in 
danger of falling are the same as those which we have men- 
tioned as threatening the student, but because he is the 
leader, with nobody to correct his mistakes, the harm occa- 
sioned by his mistakes is far the more serious. 

Because of his limited knowledge of the subject matter 
and its implications, the student may easily suppose he un- 
derstands his problem when he does not. How often when 
asked, ''Do you know just what it is that you are seeking?" 
he will with perfect conscientiousness reply in the afl&rma- 



146 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

tive, when the outcome of his subsequent efforts shows that 
he was mistaken. The teacher should not take the student's 
word for it, but may wisely require him to definitely formu- 
late the problem, not merely as an evidence of its comprehen- 
sion but, still more, for the sake of the definiteness of thought 
which such formulation produces. In the study of mathe- 
matics and to a considerable degree in the physical sciences, 
the importance of an exact formulation of problems by the 
student has become generally recognized, due in part to the 
fact that in the exact sciences problem formulation is more 
definite and simple, in part to the greater prominence of the 
problematic element in them. To this, the explicitness with 
which the algebra student outlines his problem before its 
solution and the completeness and definiteness of the lab- 
oratory instructions in physics bear witness. In the humani- 
ties the problematic element is less obvious and more often 
overlooked. Too frequently the student of history thinks of 
the events leading to the Revolution rather as memory con- 
tent than as problematic, so that no formulation of the prob- 
lem which he should be seeking to solve is even thought of. 
The same could be said of the treatment of the conjugation in 
the Spanish class, the choice of the President's cabinet in 
civics, and even of the motive of Brutus in '^ Julius Caesar" in 
the study of literature. Possibly the adequate oral reading 
of a literary selection, in contrast to the slipshod reading so 
often heard in high school classes, might be considered an 
instance of such formulation. If in the humanities, as well 
as in the sciences, the student is led to a definite formulation 
of the problem involved, he will discover far more meaning 
and profit than is usually the case. Yet even in mathematics 
and the sciences incomplete and inaccurate statements of the 
problem are too often permitted, at the sacrifice of much of 
the exactness of thought and expression for which those 
studies are justly valued. 

Realness of Problem. — The second essential of the prob- 
lem is that it shall be a real one for the student. Just as the 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 47 

question must be adapted to the student/ so the problem 
must be one that arises out of his own experience. A prob- 
lem is not an unreal, made-to-order task set for the student 
as a form of mental gymnastics, but arises out of a larger 
whole or situation which confronts him and the challenge of 
whose problem impels him to an active search for solution. 
Without the real situation as a background there can be no 
real problem as foreground. Counting the number of occur- 
rences of a peculiar idiom in one of Cicero's orations may 
have a considerable degree of reality for the classical philolo- 
gist, but possesses none for the schoolboy, because there is 
nothing in his experience upon which it bears. Problems 
without number could be devised, but nobody ever solves 
them until they are found to bear on already conscious inter- 
ests, and the principle holds good with individual school 
children as with the race. The situation out of which arises 
for the Latin student the problem of the third conjugation is 
principally his previous experience with the first and second 
conjugations. That for the first conjugation is his knowl- 
edge of the EngHsh conjugation. In the study of stream 
erosion it is his observation, past or present, of the phenomena 
of the stream he knows. To the girl in domestic art, the 
problem of harmony in room furnishings may well arise out 
of the question ''What kind of rug would be appropriate for 
this dining-room?" In the same way, each lesson is an exer- 
cise the occasion for which has arisen from the lessons which 
had preceded it, either immediately or more remotely, thus 
securing continuity as well as incentive. 

Thus a problem should appeal to the student as practical, 
and bearing upon the affairs of his active interests. In a 
recent experiment, a zoology class was taught in two sections, 
of equal ability and with the same instructor, the sole differ- 
ence being that in the one section the material was treated 
in the usual way, in the other the economic aspects were 
prominently emphasized. Although the final examination of 

' Cf. p. 63. 



148 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

both was based upon the work of the section first mentioned, 
the students of the second section showed in the examination 
far the better knowledge of the subject. The explanation is 
simple, viz. : a greater degree of reality in the problems when 
given an economic application led to better interest and com- 
prehension. In similar manner, such studies as physics, 
Spanish, and trigonometry can be made to have a special ap- 
peal by emphasizing their value in manipulating electrical 
machines, in conversing with Mexicans, and in land survey- 
ing respectively. 

Applications such as the above readily appeal to the 
typical high school student. But it must not be supposed 
that he identifies economic with practical value. He likes 
to think quite as much as he likes to earn money, provided 
the problem be well chosen and rightly treated. In the 
words of Professor De Garmo: "As soon as the school work 
assumes the form of problems to be solved by the self-activity 
of the pupils, we have at once a concrete application of the 
doctrine of interest, provided, of course, that we can make 
the end seem to the pupil worth striving for, and can render 
it natural for the interest to cling to the steps of the solution 
as well as to the attainment of the end. But it is to this 
form of work that children most readily respond.''^ Prob- 
lems may thus be intellectually real, of interest not because 
of economic value or of service in facilitating the doing of 
things, but quite as much because of the intellectual activity 
involved in its solution, or of the knowledge to which it leads. 
Thus appeal is made not merely to the interest of expression 
but of curiosity and of mental activity as well. Problems of 
this type abound and often predominate in practically all 
fields of high school study, although if they do not eventually 
lead to some form of direct application the zest of intellectual 
effort will be dissipated, and the student will justly declare 
the work impractical. 

A recognition of the importance of the realness of prob- 
^ De Garmo, "Interest and Education," p. 206. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 49 

lems has in the past few years manifested itself in several 
suggestive movements. A few years ago some teachers of 
mathematics undertook to formulate a larger number of 
''real problems'' in algebra.^ Such problems were contrib- 
uted by teachers all over the country, and a strong impulse 
was given the movement toward the real. However, in too 
many cases the teachers lost sight of the principle stated in 
the preceding paragraph, and mistook ''real" to mean "de- 
rived from the student's out-of -school activities." The sug- 
gested problems dealt with automobiles and race-tracks and 
similar interests, but overlooked the fact that the real inter- 
est of the problem lies not in the construction of an imaginary 
race-track, of itself interesting to but a small minority of girls 
and boys, but in the intellectual activity represented in the 
solution of the problem. 

The Project Method. — ^Another phase of the same move- 
ment is what is known as the "project method" of teaching, 
especially in the natural sciences. The idea seems to have 
had its origin in the sphere of vocational education, and to 
have been taken up by advocates of general science. To both 
types of study it is peculiarly adapted. The plan is to aban- 
don the traditional organization of subject matter, but, let- 
ting the problem arise out of the everyday experience of the 
children, to discover in the course of the solution of the prob- 
lem the principles upon which it is based. In the organiza- 
tion of content into teaching units, we are told, the traditional 
tendency has been to follow not pedagogic but logical princi- 
ples. The new movement tells us that if the boundary-line 
between algebra and geometry or between linguistic and lit- 
erary study does not represent the natural line of cleavage 
in the ehild's thought and experience, we must remove the 
old landmarks and run out new lines. "Organization of 
subject matter," we are told, "must be made around the 
knowledge of the pupil^ not around that of the teacher or 

^ School Science and Mathematics, March, 1909, p. 307, and several suc- 
ceeding issues. 



150 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHHsTG 

syllabus maker." ^ Thus, one might start his study of chem- 
istry directly from the problem of the burning of the candle, 
and the solution of that problem would lead the student into 
the discovery of the great group of chemical facts and princi- 
ples involved. Further *' projects" would be the investiga- 
tion of the wireless telegraph, the construction of a book- 
case, or the combating of an insect pest. 

The arguments usually advanced in favor of the project 
method are these: In the first place, each problem possesses 
unity because of its clearly defined aim in the student's mind. 
Second, its problems are real problems to the pupil, and con- 
sequently their solution has a positive and appreciable value 
to him. The third and distinguishing feature of the method 
lies in the fact that the pupil utilizes already acquired knowl- 
edge and skill, and attains to new knowledge in the fulfilment 
of the project.^ Finally, the method of study is almost 
exactly that whereby problems of extra-scholastic life are met 
and solved, so that both the training in method of procedure 
and the disposition to use school-acquired training function 
after the completion of the school course. 

But the path for the advocate of the project method is 
not free from obstacles. In the employment of the method, 
especially in the laboratory, the teacher often meets the practi- 
cal problem of administering the work with perhaps twenty 
or thirty students each working out a problem of his own sug- 
gestion. At the same time, the working out of many proj- 
ects involves drawing upon a great variety of fields and of 
sources of material, many of which are not available even in 
the best-equipped schools. These are difficulties of admin- 
istration, which the advocates of the method believe can be 
met. More fundamental are the objections to the principles 
involved, as offered especially by teachers of biology. They 

^ Woodhull, "Science Teaching by Projects," in School Science and 
Mathematics, vol. XV, p. 229. 

2 Sneddon, "The 'Project' as a Teaching Unit/' in School and Society, 
vol. IV, p. 42i» 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 151 

tell US in the first place that the project method is unsys- 
tematic in its organization, losing sight of perspective and of 
relationships between various parts of the science.^ Further, 
we are told that the method fails to give students a compre- 
hensive and well-organized training in fundamental princi- 
ples. 

The entire project movement is as yet in its infancy, and 
like infant movements is far from definite. The term "proj- 
ect" is variously used by different writers, even though the 
basal principle is clear enough. Projects may represent the 
work of an hour or of a year. Moreover, there are projects 
within projects. The idea is certainly good, especially in the 
vocational subjects and in general science. The technic for 
its realization is yet in the making.^ 

The first two impKcations of problematic learning have 
been given as the student's knowledge of the situation and 
its appeal to him, and have been provided for by the require- 
ments that the problem shall be definitely understood by the 
student and shall be for him a real problem. With these 
requirements met there follows naturally his response to the 
situation, and with this the three remaining steps of thinking 
have to deal. 

2. The Tentative Solution of the Problem. — The recogni- 
tion of a problem and the feeling that it is of real significance 
leads one to undertake its solution. An unsolved problem is 
like an unbalanced force, which will not cease to act until it 
has come to equihbrium, either' by realizing itself as action^ 
or by encountering an insurmountable obstacle. Thus it is 
that the high school student, when once he feels the challenge 

Hn reply, Professor Woodhull writes: "The whole movement is an 
attempt to introduce first of all a very specific organization where none 
now exists, and secondly a very different kind of organization from that 
hitherto attempted." In School Science and Mathematics, vol. XV, p. 
229. 

2 In addition to the references already cited, the teacher may profitably 
read the article, "Project Science, Progressive," by J. C. Moore, in School 
Science and Mathematics, vol. XVI, p. 686, and chaps. XIII-XVIII pf 
"The Teaching of Science," by J. F. WoodhulL 



152 PRmCIPLES OF TEACHING 

of a problem, will not rest until he has made at least an effort 
at its solution. He produces, therefore, at least a tentative 
solution or h3^othesis, not always definitely formulated, often 
with no clear consciousness of what he is doing, but one which 
nevertheless serves as the point of departure and preliminary 
guiding principle in the quest of the desired solution. 

Types of Hypothesis. — Naturally the form which the 
hypothesis or tentative solution takes follows directly from 
the form or type of the problem itself. If the latter be induc- 
tive, the hypothesis will be a generalization, in the form 
either of a class or of a general principle or law. As examples 
of the class-forming hypothesis we might recall the illustra- 
tions given earlier.^ Such is the statement that in German 
all prepositions indicating direction of motion govern the 
dative, or that all crystals whose faces meet at a certain angle 
are salts from sulphuric acid. Whether correct or not can 
in these cases be determined only by subsequent observation, 
but in their present form they serve the purpose of working 
bases for further investigation. An illustration of the second 
type, for the establishment of a general principle or law, 
would be the hypothesis that the rate of vibration of the 
pendulum depends upon the length of the pendulum and the 
weight of the bob. As in the previous case, this hypothesis, 
although only partially correct, serves as the starting-point 
for the solution of the problem. In a similar way, the hy- 
pothesis in the deductive thinking consists merely in the 
solutions which the student believes will serve and upon the 
basis of which his further procedure depends. He attempts 
to explain the presence of deep parallel scratches on a flat 
stone and forms the hypothesis that they were caused by 
glacial action. When called upon to factor x^ — 289, he 
forms the hypothesis that it is the difference of two squares 
and factorable accordingly. The determination of the motive 
in Macbeth's action starts with a hypothetical explanation 
as a basis, to be established or revised as the study proceeds. 

iC/.pp. 140/. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 53 

The essentials of a good hypothesis in instruction are 
fundamentally those of a good problem, since the hypothesis 
is but the logical sequent of the problem. 

A first essential of the hypothesis is that it shall be a 
definite one in the student's mind. It must be one that, for 
the student, naturally and consciously presents itself as a 
solution of the problem, one that he himself suggests and 
formulates rather than one suggested or dictated to him by 
authority. Only when the initiative rests with the student 
will the principle of activity and self-reliance be realized. 
Many of the so-called hypotheses in poor teaching do not 
originate with the student at all, but are more or less incom- 
plete telHngs and dictations by the teacher or text-book, and 
arouse but little response from the pupil, for any well-trained 
schoolboy resents being told what he wanted to find out for 
himself. This does not necessarily imply that the hypothesis 
shall be formally stated by him, especially where the proce- 
dure is simple and obvious and a formal statement would 
hinder rather than further progress. On the other hand, 
where the procedure is at all complex and obscure and there 
is danger of losing one's bearings, a well-formulated state- 
ment of the hypothesis serves as a landmark in preventing 
wanderings and assisting the student to stay by his task. 

The second requirement is that the hypothesis shall sug- 
gest, for the student at least, a real solution to the problem. 
Only when he offers a rational solution that appears adequate 
and not a mere guess will it be a real hypothesis and of edu- 
cational value. With his Hmited experience and consequent 
want of judgment, his hypothesis will at best often prove 
inadequate and erroneous, and demand reconstruction. 
However, a goal to be sought in education is the ability to 
secure results with minimal expenditure of time and energy, 
and the high school boy should early be made to realize that 
he is responsible for results and that ill-grounded guesses 
seldom secure the results sought. Thus the formation of a 
hypothesis furnishes a training in judgment in the evaluation 



154 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

of alternatives such as is afforded in few of the educational 
activities. 

The teacher's function at this stage of problematic pro- 
cedure is not passive, however. It might be said to be two- 
fold. First, the teacher must by skilful development arouse 
the student to the formation and formulation of the hypothe- 
sis. Second, his previous training, experience, and study of 
the lesson and of the pupils should enable him to anticipate 
the guesses and solutions that will be suggested, and he 
should thus be prepared so to treat them as to guide them 
toward positive results. All this is a prominent element in 
skill in teaching, and involves a wise employment of encourag- 
ing, of insisting, of questioning, and even of suggesting and 
telling. 

3. Reasoning Out the Implications of the Hypothesis. — 
The requirement that the hypothesis or tentative solution 
shall be rational carries with it the presumption that it shall 
be reasoned out, and that its implications be traced through 
in order to establish its validity. It is here that the real 
hard thinking of the problem is encountered. Here the prin- 
ciples of cause and effect, of essential and incidental, of simi- 
larity and difference are applied. Here occurs the interplay 
of induction and deduction, wherein generalizations are made, 
and applied in the explanation of the particular data of the 
problem. Imagination functions in that unseen causes and 
effects are ideally dealt with, since their actual employment 
is impossible or inconvenient, or the student, unable to try 
all of the suggested lines of action, selects which one to 
employ. He sees the reasonableness of his hypothesis that 
x^ — 289 is the difference of two squares, since the second 
term, 289, ends in a 9, making it a potential square. In 
the case of the study of Macbeth's character, there would be 
times when Macbeth would still shrink from the crime when 
the danger of discovery was forgotten or when his moral 
objections were met. In the case of the pendulum, a change 
in size of bob alone or in length of cord alone would affect 
vibration rate. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 55 

Hypothesis Must Be the Student*s Own. — A first require- 
ment of the "reasoning out" step is that it shall originate 
with the student. It shall represent his own thinking, since 
borrowed reasoning ceases thereby to be thinking and becomes 
essentially memory material. As in the case of the problem 
formulation and the hypothetical solution, so in the case of 
the reasoning, the student initiative and activity must be 
preserved. No more here than in the preceding steps is the 
teacher to be a mere interested spectator, but, as before, his 
task consists in a skilful questioning, suggesting, and stimu- 
lating, so conducted that the student will with minimal ex- 
penditure of time and energy discover the implications of his 
h37pothesis. Here again the teacher is confronted by the old 
problem, how far he should assist the student in his rea- 
soning. Left wholly to himself, the student will infer wrongly, 
overlook essentials, and expend his efforts in almost valueless 
gropings for the truth. On the other hand, if the teacher 
assists too much, the student becomes dependent and loses 
the zest of the problem as such. It is herein that skill in 
instruction is employed, for the skilful teacher by watchful, 
intelligent, sympathetic observation will discover empirically 
the boundary between leading and carrying. In general, 
when the student reasons wrongly and the costliness of the 
error offsets the value of finding it out by results, the teacher 
should by questioning and in some cases by telling lead the 
pupil to see what would otherwise have been overlooked. 
The suggestions sometimes made that the student should 
never be told what he can find out for himself, and that he 
should be told when mistaken in order to save him waste of 
effort, are both extreme. The truth lies in a rational appli- 
cation of the principle of each. 

Soundness of Hypothesis. — The second requirement of 
the ''reasoning out" step is that it shall be sound. To per- 
mit a student to believe he is reasoning when in reality he is 
imagining or guessing is to stunt for him one of the highest, 
perhaps the highest, of his mental powers, for so long as he 
mistakes illogical for logical thinking he will never learn to 



156 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

reason logically. Sound reasoning involves not merely valid 
reasoning but reasoning in a rational sequence. A demonstra- 
tion in geometry may possess validity and yet at the same 
time be illogically organized. Moreover, it must be relevant, 
dealing really with the problem in hand. Too often students 
are disposed in the solution of a problem to say things about 
the problem which contribute nothing toward its solution, 
offering as justification the fact that what they said is true. 

Sound reasoning is reasoning which is valid, sequent, and 
relevant, and none other should be accepted by the teacher. 
However, the first efforts of the student will usually fall far 
short of this ideal. His ignorance of the succeeding steps, 
his lack of perspective, and his want of training prevent per- 
fect success at the first attempt. Hence, it is usually wise to 
go again over the argument, selecting, organizing, and polish- 
ing, so that when completed it affords him a measure of sat- 
isfaction and pride. The consciousness that a thing has been 
well done is a valuable incentive to doing other things well. 

4. Verification of Hypothesis. — We have referred to the 
hypothesis as a tentative solution. It is therefore anticipa- 
tory in character, in that it represents a conclusion to be 
temporarily accepted until its validity or inadequacy can be 
established. The final stage of the complete act of thought 
is thus the verification of the hypothesis or tentative solution 
of the problem with which the thought concerns itself. 

Material for the Verification. — The situation out of which 
the problem arises is essentially concrete, and the final test 
of the validity of the h3^othesis is its workableness in the 
concrete. Thus verification, like the recognition and formu- 
lation of the problem, involves the observation of the con- 
crete. However, the observation in the two cases differs in 
two essential features, its aim and its material. The aim of 
the observation in the first step is the formulation of the 
hypothesis, in the last step it is the testing of the hypothesis. 
The material of the observation in the first step is not a 
matter of choice, but is determined by the problematic situa- 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 157 

tion itself; in the last step, that material is selected which 
most adequately represents the range of appHcation of the 
hypothesis. The material is thus determined by the aim. 

The material observed in the verification of the hypothesis 
is derived from two sources. In a large part of the curricu- 
lum, and especially in the humanities, it is an observation of 
already existent data or phenomena. In other cases, espe- 
cially in the natural sciences and mathematics, it is made to 
order, supplied specifically in the form of experiment. As 
will be seen later, this element of observation occurs also in 
the laboratory mode of instruction, and, indeed, it would be 
difficult to draw any sharp line of demarcation between prob- 
lematic and laboratory instruction. The laboratory mode 
may even be employed in the verification of the hypothesis 
formulated already in the problematic procedure or may, 
indeed, form a real part of the latter. The further treatment 
of this relation must be deferred until the laboratory mode 
has received some consideration. 

Verification and Application. — Between the verification of 
the problematic procedure and the application mode of in- 
struction, there is an at least seeming parallelism, in that in 
each case the abstraction or generalization of the problematic 
procedure is applied to a variety of concrete cases. The dif- 
ference is thus not one of form, for in form the two are alike. 
The difference is rather one of aim, in that the verification is 
for the sake of reassurance that the hypothesis is sound, 
whereas the application presupposes the validity of the prin- 
ciple. The former is primarily for the sake of efficiency. 
With this relationship the chapter on the application mode 
will deal more fully. 

Validity of Verification. — For positive certainty of the 
validity of the hypothesis or generalization, the verification is 
absolutely essential. One of the most valuable ends to be 
attained in high school instruction is the appreciation of cer- 
tainty in knowledge, and a disposition to be satisfied without 
assurance when assurance is attainable is the mark of the 



158 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

happy-go-lucky, a most undesirable trait in any individual's 
make-up. 

However, complete verification is sometimes impossible, 
and when possible is occasionally unprofitable, especially for 
the high school student. The hypothesis that the scratches 
on the rock were caused by glacial action can never be proved 
although found to be extremely probable. The motive of 
the general in the campaign or of the character in the play 
are rarely positively declared but merely to be inferred. The 
verification of some of the laws as presented in elementary 
algebra is, for the high school student, valid only with posi- 
tive integral exponents, yet the rule as formulated by him is 
treated as if of general validity. Although demonstrable 
deductively in higher mathematics, it is here capable of but 
an inductive inference based on a special type of cases. In 
secondary education most of the verifications are inductive 
rather than deductive in character, are based on observation 
of t5q3ical cases rather than on necessary relationships, and 
accordingly are valid only in so far as the cases selected for 
the verification are representative. 

Thus the so-called proofs are often mere inferences, with 
a high degree of probability for their justification. The rea- 
soning in not a little of the deductive verification of high 
school work is valid to the student only. Induction, even at 
its best, involves an inference from a few known cases to a 
multitude of unknown cases. Yet this does not imply that 
the student shall be taught to accept slipshod reasoning as 
final, or that the inference of induction shall be a leap in the 
dark. Rather, it means that the student shall be made to 
evaluate properly the product of his thinking. Although 
desiring positive certainty, he should when that is unattain- 
able or unprofitable seek an approximation in the form of a 
probability, at the same time appreciating the degree of the 
probability. Though he must at times generalize with in- 
adequate data, it need not be a rash generalization, and will 
not be if it was the best that could be done and is correctly 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 59 

evaluated. He should learn, also, how to evaluate the prem- 
ises or data from which he draws his conclusion, realizing 
that often even a single case may, by the principle of the 
uniformity of nature, furnish adequate basis for generaliza- 
tion. 

Types of Verification. — Because the types of problem and 
of hypothesis in different studies vary widely, we find a corre- 
sponding variety in the types of verification. The factoring 
of x^ — 289 is verified by a reversal of the operation, and 
multipl)dng together the two factors obtained in the solution 
of the problem. In both algebra and geometry a partial 
verification is often possible by the substitution of numerical 
values for the algebraic or linear values. In the case of 
geometry the student should be taught to see first if the con- 
clusion claimed appears reasonable in the figure drawn, before 
attempting a more exact verification. The physics student 
who has formulated the law of the pendulum verifies the 
same by experimenting with variations of bob and of length. 
In a science like zoology or some parts of physical geography, 
where experiment is unavailable, recourse is had to observa- 
tion of data which are intelligently and widely selected, in- 
cluding not only the cases that seem to confirm but also those 
that seem to discredit the hypothesis. In the study of his- 
tory, the verification takes still different forms. Here the 
anticipatory judgment^ looks for its justification to the facts 
related in the text or reference books, or even to the pupil's 
own experience. 

Statement of Verification. — The definite statement or for- 
mulation of the verification usually offers two important 
advantages. First, it encourages greater clarity of thought 
in the verification. Careless language is frequently a mask 
for careless thought, and the necessity for justifying one's 
verification will induce an increased care in the reasoning. 
Clearer expression, better organization of thought, and more 
careful thinking will thus be encouraged. Second, the formal 

1 Cj. p. 141. 



l6o PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

statement will afford opportunity for the correction of errors 
in reasoning and in concept. Not only the teacher but the 
class as well can scrutinize and, if necessary, correct the 
reasoning, thus securing for the pupil accuracy of thinking 
and correctness of solution of his problem. 

Explanation. — Closely related to verification is explana- 
tion. Each is a review of a completed process of thought, 
but with a distinct aim. In the explanation all that is in- 
cluded is a recital of the successive steps in the solution of 
the problem and the purpose of each, whereas the verification 
has especially to do with the reasons for believing the solu- 
tion to be correct. The former tells in a simplified form 
what was done and why, the latter is to show that the method 
was such as to realize the aim. ''An explanation," says 
Professor Smith, "never attempts to state the reasons for, 
or causes of, scientific fact. . . . An explanation is simply a 
description which relates a thing or idea to other more familiar 
things or ideas. In this way we explain the hastening of the 
evolution of hydrogen, when a little cupric sulphate is added, 
by reference to what we know about electric couples. . . . 
The employment of terminology is not explanation. '* ^ These 
statements hold of explanations in general. Explanation of 
an algebraic solution of a problem in complex fractions con- 
sists in analyzing the solution into a series of simpler well- 
known processes, involving simple fractions and the funda- 
mental operations. 

The character of the explanation furnishes the basis for 
its function. When the method of solution of a problem is, 
as a method, worthy of special attention, often because it 
typifies a number of similar processes, it can best receive such 
attention by analysis into its component elements. It is 
just this analysis, this statement of the new and the complex 
in terms of the older and simpler, that constitutes explana- 
tion. When the pupil has solved the problem and is called 
upon to explain it, he and his hearers rethink the process of 

^ Smith and Hall, "The Teaching of Chemistry and Physics," p. 147. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE l6l 

the solution, thus impressing it more deeply, and because of 
the shorter time required in the explanation than that of the 
original solution, the whole is seen in better perspective and 
unity. The additional benefit derived by the student from 
the organization and expression of thought is also consider- 
able. 

What constitutes a good explanation? Taking the aim 
as basis for the evaluation, it would be such as most clearly 
and adequately brings out the process or relationship which 
the problem was primarily intended to realize. With a prob- 
lem in factoring by inspection, the explanation would point 
out how familiar processes had been utilized in the solution; 
nothing more and nothing less than this. It would not in- 
volve an explanation of incidental and familiar processes, 
such as the subtraction of exponents or the removal of paren- 
theses except in so far as these are specially and peculiarly 
concerned with the process of factoring. An explanation of 
a solution does not mean the relating of everything that has 
been done, but only what serves to explain the process for 
which the problem is intended. Evidently, merely reading 
what is written upon the board is not explaining, but the 
explanation should involve rethinking as well as resaying. 
Explanation of the self-evident is meaningless and absurd. 
Better understanding of its function and character would 
raise explanation from the mechanism so often given the 
name to the level of real educative activity on the part of 
the student, and incidentally result in a great economy of 
time and attention. 

Verification and Proof. — The relation between verification 
and proof or demonstration is more immediate. As the term 
is commonly used, a proof or demonstration is logically prac- 
ticalty the same as verification, and differs from it in being 
the expression of a verification for the sake of another party. 
The verification is involved in the problematic procedure and 
is completed when the observer himself has seen that his 
hypothesis is valid. Proof or demonstration consists in con- 



l62 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

verting that verification into language, as a means to its 
expression, so that the certainty may be shared by another. 
The student may be justly convinced that his problem has 
been correctly solved, but if he wishes to justify that con- 
viction to others he must express that verification in terms 
of principles already accepted by the observer. For this 
reason many problems, in all fields of study, are wholly un- 
suited for demonstration, in that they are so self-evident 
that proof would be superfluous. 

Teacher's Function in the Thought Problem. — In the 
foregoing paragraphs of this section the point of view taken 
has in the main been that of the student as learner. At the 
risk of repetition, it will perhaps be worth our while to trace 
through the teacher's part in the thought type of the prob- 
lematic mode. Evidently his first efforts must be aimed at 
bringing to the student's consciousness the problematic char- 
acter of the situation. He must induce the problem atti- 
tude. Merely telling a student that the situation is prob- 
lematic avails nothing. He must be made to see and feel 
an intellectual need; the point of incompleteness in the sys- 
tem of his experience must cry out for remedy. Here the 
teacher may, by question and suggestion, bring the lack to 
consciousness by bringing the pupil to the point where his 
lack baffles progress in his thought, and challenges to solu- 
tion. Then, as the problematic character of the situation is 
realized, further questions and suggestions must lead the stu- 
dent to the exact localization of the problem. The teacher 
must bring him not alone to realize the existence of something 
to be thought out, but also to run it down and isolate it for 
investigation. The known and the unknown must be clearly 
distinguished. 

The attempt at a hypothesis must at first be a groping, 
but not necessarily a groping in the dark. The teacher, 
already knowing the situation, must throw the light upon 
the points to which he wishes his pupils to reach out. Nat- 
urally he can herein exercise a selective function. By ques- 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 163 

tion and suggestion he leads the pupil to combine all the 
promising elements which the latter has found into a seem- 
ingly consistent and rational hypothesis. But young people 
are naturally impetuous, and prone to jump at conclusions. 
Incautiously they accept seeming solutions unchallenged. 
Here the teacher's best service may be that of restraint. He 
may do well to seemingly deny the hypothesis as formulated. 
At any rate, he must direct the student's attention to the 
necessity of looking into the implications of that hypothesis; 
to a sense of responsibility for it and a determination to be 
safe and assured. 

Verification is the outcome of that determination. As at 
the outset of the problem he wanted to know its solution, so 
now his determination to know must culminate in the feeling 
that he does know; that he really has truth. But how is he 
to know? The teacher's service here seems to be primarily 
that of directing to ways and opportunities for trying out his 
supposed solution. His wider experience is at the student's 
disposal, to suggest possible situations where the hypothesis 
would be most likely to break down. Then, in turn, if it 
stands the test, to guide the student to recognition of its 
truth. If it fails (and false hypotheses are often good teach- 
ing material), he should guide to a reanalysis of the impHca- 
tion, a discovery of defects, and a corrected solution. 

In the problematic mode the teacher guides the student 
into the mines of truth by going behind with the candle and 
admonishing his charge to keep within the circle of its illu- 
mination. 

5. Application of the Problematic Mode in Teaching 

Forms of Problematic Procedure. — Our previous sections 
have endeavored to show that whenever the knowledge of 
the new is sought in instruction, the problematic is the mode 
of development which is naturally involved. Attention was 
also called to the fact that, when a complete act of thought is 



164 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

involved, problematic procedure falls into a fairly well-defined 
movement from knowledge of concrete facts through general 
conclusion upon these facts to the application of the gen- 
eralizations to further concrete cases. Yet in the work of 
the class exercise the act of thought is very frequently incom- 
plete. The development of an entire class hour may be em- 
ployed in getting information, in deriving a general principle, 
or in verifying and applying a principle previously discovered. 

Although the complete act of thought, involving all of its 
logical steps, is in some degree inherent in every study of the 
high school curriculum, the proportion between the different 
elements varies greatly in the different subjects. In the 
physical sciences and especially physics and chemistry, the 
discovery of general laws occupies a large amount of the stu- 
dent's attention. However, the verification is also common, 
so that here the circle of thought is exemplified perhaps as 
well as anywhere in the high school curriculum. Not only 
the informational problem occurs, but still more the thought 
type of problem, both inductive and deductive. In the bio- 
logical sciences and agriculture, the informational and the 
deductive problems prevail, since the causal element upon 
which the general laws are based is so often inaccessible for 
the high school student.^ Much of his discovery is of par- 
ticular facts rather than of general principles, and a larger 
part of the remainder consists of the observation and verifica- 
tion of what another has already discovered and formulated. 
Possibly the most of the inductive work in this department of 
study is in the type study of zoology, wherein the student 
observes several members of a group in order to determine 
the common features of that group, and this type study is 
about the only form of laboratory work available in the high 
school course in biological sciences. 

In mathematics, the information problem occurs but little 
if at all. The study is by its nature essentially one of neces- 
sary relationships, not of chance, and the thought problem is 
^ Lloyd and Bigelow, "The Teaching of Biology," p. 52. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 1 65 

the result. In the discovery and formulation of the general 
rules and principles the procedure is inductive, and in the 
verification of the principles and their application in the solu- 
tion of the set exercises and problems the process is deduc- 
tive. The direction so often met, ''Teach by the inductive 
method," thus has a measure of truth, for merely to dictate 
rules authoritatively rather than to develop them with the 
class is to rob the student of probably the best thing in educa- 
tion, the zest of discovery and self -activity, and to render him 
a follower of authority instead of a seeker after truth. The 
working of examples is an essential and most helpful train- 
ing, but does not of itself constitute mathematical training. 
If all of the mathematics is taught, the admonition to teach 
inductively as well as deductively will automatically be fol- 
lowed in so far as the subject occasions. Geometry has long 
been considered a peculiarly deductive science, a belief which 
seems to have originated in the emphasis formerly laid upon 
its demonstrative activities, and to have been self-perpetuat- 
ing in that it has led to a continuance of the emphasis upon 
demonstration. When properly taught, geometrical reason- 
ing begins farther back than the demonstration of the theo- 
rem, in an analysis of the conditions involved; then, by a 
synthetic procedure, the demonstration itself is constructed. 
''The classroom in geometry," says Professor Young, "is the 
place par excellence for the analytic method. ... If the 
pupil is to be more than a passive learner, he must be shown 
the chain of reasoning by which the proofs given in the text 
might naturally have been discovered. Unless he catches 
the spirit of geometric analysis, he will never succeed in find- 
ing proofs himself." ^ 

In the humanities the problems usually take forms quite 
different from those of the sciences. Naturally the quantita- 
tive element is of far less prominence. In the study of his- 
tory the problems are often of considerable length and com- 
plexity, and require several class exercises for their solu- 
^ Young, "The Teaching of Mathematics," pp. 260-261. 



l66 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

tion. It therefore frequently happens that a single lesson 
may be predominantly informational in character, and the 
class not realize that they are at the same time securing data 
for the solution of a larger problem. Moreover, the number 
of generalizations which a high school student can formulate 
in the field of history is decidedly limited, so that a large part 
of the historical study in the school is a deductive interpreta- 
tion of particular events and conditions in the Hght of prin- 
ciples already known, though often not clearly conscious in 
the student's mind. One of the most urgent needs of the 
history teaching of our schools is that the student, as well as 
the teacher, realize more constantly the problematic rather 
than the merely informational significance of the study, and 
the truth that historical facts merely as facts have very little 
educational value. 

The problematic character of linguistic study has received 
much more attention during the past few years, since the 
inductive method of study has been employed in the text- 
books. True induction implies a necessary and causal rela- 
tionship, and in linguistic study wherein many of the relations 
are arbitrary and the generalizations abound in exceptions, 
any induction is at best an approximation. Much of the ma- 
terial, therefore, must be given deductively and by authority, 
either through the text-book or by the teacher. However, 
the instructor should be on the watch for any opportunity 
for the student to derive general principles by inductive ob- 
servation, and when the effort involved in the inductive 
generalization does not outweigh the benefit to be derived, 
should lead the student to the inductive discovery, thus 
securing for him the benefits which result from self-activity. 

The study of Kterature has its learning and its feeling 
elements. The latter and its relation to the former form 
the basis for the following chapter. On the other hand, while 
the learning element in Hterary study has in it very little of 
the purely informational problem, the interpretation of a 
piece of literature furnishes thought problems in abundance. 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 167 

Comparisons of literary style and motive, the grouping of 
writers and movements, the derivation of ethical principles 
are instances of inductive study. The interpretation of par- 
ticular passages by means of the author's moral ideals and 
the tracing of philosophical and political influence in a book 
are forms of deduction. Whether the study of literature 
should always lead to an aesthetic or ethical outcome as its 
chief aim is a theoretical problem with which we are not here 
concerned. That its problematic character is an essential 
and most beneficial one is evident. High school music, as 
commonly taught, offers comparatively few problems, but 
consists mainly of training in appreciation with a considerable 
degree of drill upon already learned activities. 

Vocational and applied subjects offer peculiar opportuni- 
ties for the use of the problematic mode, due to the readiness 
with which real problematic situations can be found. The 
desire to produce a certain product, such as a bookcase, a 
loaf of bread, an apron, an inventory, or a business letter pro- 
vides a well-motivated situation for its respective problem. 

The rapid survey made in the preceding paragraphs will 
suffice to indicate the essentially problematic character of 
high school studies. The entire learning activity is thus seen 
to owe its origin to the student's desire to find out or to think 
out some problem which has arisen in the course of his study. 
The problem is the instigator of learning, and its solution 
determines the form and type of the learning. The four 
steps in problematic instruction are thus essential elements 
in every study which involves learning. Each study, how- 
ever, has its distinctive type of problematic procedure, and 
accordingly fills a more or less unique place in the education 
of the school. 

Transferrence of Acquired Efficiency. — This naturally 
raises again for us the problem of the transferrence of ac- 
quired efficiency. To what degree is the training developed 
in the various secondary school studies serviceable in other 
fields? 



l68 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

We saw in an earlier chapter (page 23) that the essential 
for such transferrence is a community of elements between 
the fields in question. What is there in common between 
the training in, let us say, algebra and physics ? In both the 
thought type of the problematic mode prevails, in which the 
student is trained to a certain systematic mode of attack. 
In both subjects the problem attitude must lead to recogni- 
tion of the problem, and so on through the series of steps in 
its solution. If in his algebra he is taught that the way to 
attack any problem is to do these things, that generalized 
principle of method will function in his physics as well, though 
of course much better if its applicabiHty is pointed out to 
him. This is virtually the ^^ scientific method,'^ which we are 
told should come to every student of any science. In this he 
may be taught to assume the problem attitude of mind to- 
ward any situation, and to be dissatisfied with a solution that 
is not convincing when subjected to scrutiny. He may be 
taught these things. Too often he is not, because the general 
applicability of the principle involved, the community of 
elements between the various situations, is not brought to his 
notice. In the latter case he learns algebra perhaps, but 
algebra only. 

A somewhat similar condition holds in those studies or 
parts of studies in which the problematic mode is of the 
information type. Children may simply be told to look in 
certain places for desired information. Such direction has no 
further educative value. If, however, they are taught to be 
self-reliant in the quest for information of whatever sort, and 
to utilize all the available sources, this training can be made 
to function widely. What was said in the last paragraph 
about the problem attitude is equally applicable here. 

In the case of the training of observation the case is some- 
what different. Observation necessarily involves some famil- 
iarity with the thing to be observed. It is doubtful whether 
the student who has never studied natural science would be 
very observing of chemical phenomena in the way in which 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 169 

the chemist uses the term. Content functions largely here, 
as an '^apperceptive mass.'' In chemistry and physics the 
content is somewhat similar, and observation trained in one 
may function somewhat in the other. 

To trace through the application of the principle to the 
various studies of the curriculum and to the many elements 
of training is not within the scope of this volume. The les- 
son for us seems to be that transferable training is not inherent 
in subjects as such, but in the discovery of and generalization 
upon common elements in the various types of study and of 
life activity. There must be not simple associations alone 
but associations after disjunction. 

The three general rules outlined in Chapter II were 
these. The derivation of concepts should be made from a 
wide variety of cases, the meaning rather than the form 
should be made the basis of connections, and the principles 
or processes should be given a wide variety of applications. 
Of these, the first two have been incorporated in the thought 
of the entire present chapter. The third will find its place 
in Chapter X. 

''Our pupils do not think" is the frequent complaint of 
high school teachers. Doubtless the basis for this condition 
lies in the fact that students are not trained to be sensitive 
to the problems that confront them. They are seeking 
knowledge, not questions, and do not realize that questions 
are the means to knowledge. It is peculiarly the opportunity 
of the problematic mode of instruction to develop this sensi- 
tivity to problems, and to lead the student from the attitude 
of acceptance of ready-made ideas to the problem attitude of 
the seeker after truth, the challenger of experience. 

Place of the Problematic Mode in the Class Exercise. — 
The significance of the problematic mode as a type of instruc- 
tion has been indicated. How and where shall it enter into 
the class exercise? The propaedeutic function of the recita- 
tion mode, as treated in Chapter VI, was based upon the fact 
that when properly selected it served to provide the back- 



170 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ground out of which the desire for further knowledge arose, 
and to revive the already known data which might serve in 
the quest for that desired further knowledge. The problem- 
atic development consists in taking a situation which is 
familiar in most respects but which presents one phase de- 
manding investigation, and leading on the student to the 
solution of the problem thus involved. Evidently, then, the 
problematic mode naturally begins where the recitation leaves 
oE, and takes its origin to a considerable degree in the recita- 
tion period. The class exercise thus starts naturally with the 
recitation procedure, and, often with no sharp line of demar- 
cation, gives way to problematic procedure as the problematic 
element emerges from the material of the recitation. It is 
thus that the principle of lesson development, "proceed from 
the known to the unknown," finds its application. 

Can the problematic procedure be profitably employed as 
the sole element of the class exercise? Two considerations 
point to a negative answer. Procedure from the known to 
the unknown suggests the necessity of a recitation upon 
familiar material in order to create the situation out of which 
the problem arises. To plunge abruptly into a problem with- 
out some degree of introductory thought is to violate the 
principle just referred to, and at the same time is contrary 
to the way in which problems actually arise outside of the 
school. A second objection to such procedure is the failure 
to provide for the factor of expression and appKcation, the 
importance of which has already been mentioned, and which 
will occupy our attention later. 

6. Summary 

Problems in instruction are of three kinds — informational, 
inductive, and deductive — or are formed by the synthesis of 
these elements. 

Information reaches the student from either of three 
sources, (i) Telling, especially by the teacher, (ii) reading, 



THE PROBLEMATIC MODE 17I 

principally from text-book and reference books, and (iii) 
observation and experience of the student. 

Problematic procedure involves four steps : (i) recognition 
and formulation of the problem, (ii) a tentative solution, (iii) 
reasoning out its implications, and (iv) verification. The 
first of these calls for definite understanding of the problem, 
whether informational, inductive, or deductive. The prob- 
lem must be a real one for the student. The tentative solu- 
tion or hypothesis must be for the student definitely under- 
stood and adequate as a hypothesis. The implications shall 
be reasoned out by the student rather than for him, and the 
reasoning shall appeal to him as sound. The verification 
shall be, for him at least, conclusive. Verification must be 
differentiated from both explanation and demonstration. The 
teacher's function is to stimulate to zeal for knowledge and 
to soundness of thinking. 

The problematic mode is applicable to nearly all the 
studies in the high school curriculum, especially to mathe- 
matics and the natural sciences. The basis for the informa- 
tional problem is simple association; for the thought problem 
it is association after dissociation, with an analysis-synthesis- 
analysis-synthesis^ movement. Transferrence of acquired 
power is possible in the case of problematic learning in so 
far as community of elements is made obvious and generali- 
zations drawn. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Can you suggest any content of secondary school instruction 
other than appreciation material that cannot be advantageously cast 
in problem form? 

2. Is there a tendency for undeveloped content (r/. Chapter VII, 
Question 2) to assume the form of the finding-out problem, when it 
properly should take the form of a thought problem? Justify your 
answer. 

3. Is the good text-book the one that tells the most? What 
should a text-book tell? What should it leave untold? 

' Cf. p. 139. 



172 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

4. Suggest several thought problems from the secondary school 
subject which you propose to teach. Point out in each the four steps 
in the complete act of thought. 

5. From the same study, suggest several purely inductive prob- 
lems; several purely deductive problems. 

6. Suggest thought problems which are so simple that the student 
is not conscious of taking the four steps involved. 

7. Are all problems equally "real" to all members of the class? 

8. Suggest a "project" from the field of your specialty, and indi- 
cate how it might be attacked. 

9. If a student suggests a false hypothesis, under what conditions 
would you permit him to push it through to the verification step, 
without calling attention to its falsity ? 

10. Does it destroy the pupil's confidence in his method when he 
is shown that his supposed verification is really only a partial one, 
though acceptable for present needs? 

11. Are the teacher^s and the pupil's explanation parallel in form? 
If not, wherein do they differ? Why? 

12. How far can training in geometric reasoning be made to serve 
in chemical reasoning? 

13. Select some thought problem, and show how it involves the 
principle of association after dissociation. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

De Garmo, "Principles of Secondary Education, Processes of Instruc- 
tion," chaps. I, II. 

De Garmo, "Interest and Education," chap. XII. 

Dewey, "How We Think," chaps. VI, VII, XIV. 

Thorndike, "Principles of Teaching," chap. X. 

Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chaps. V, VI. 

Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. IX. 

Colvin, "An Introduction to High School Teaching," chap. XIV. 

Bolton, "Principles of Education," chap. XXIV. 

Henry, "The Problem Method in Teaching," in School and Home 
Education, February, 191 7. 

Wilson, "The Problem Attack in Teaching," in Elementary School 
Journal, June, 191 7. 

Rosenberger, "The Problem Method in Teaching History," in Nor- 
mal Instructor and Primary Plans, November, 191 6. 

Woodhull, "The Teaching of Science." 



CHAPTER IX 
THE APPRECIATION MODE 
I. Character and Function 

Meaning of Sentiment. — Following the student's knowl- 
edge of a new situation with its appeal to him comes his re- 
sponse to it. When that response is predominantly intellec- 
tual, the situation is to that degree an intellectual one and 
the problematic mode of instruction is employed in the lesson 
development. However, in many cases and especially in 
humanistic studies, the response has in it something more 
than mere knowledge or discovery of truth. When I read a 
poem, contemplate a landscape, study an animal form, or 
even follow a geometrical demonstration, the response may 
be more than the merely intellectual one of knowing and of 
finding out, which in some cases may be comparatively 
negligible. I admire the form and style of the poem, the 
symmetry and color of the landscape, the wonderful adapta- 
tion in the animal life, the directness and simplicity of the 
demonstration. In other words, I form in each of these cases 
a critical judgment, pronouncing the object of study beautiful 
or true. This critical attitude, combined with the stronger 
feeling element, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction which ac- 
companies it, is what is known as sentiment,^ and forms the 
basis of the situation response which we call appreciation. 
To appreciate a thing, therefore, means to experience this 
sentimental response to it. 

Sentiment is more than mere emotion, though the terms 
are often used interchangeably. Emotion is a complete sur- 

^ For a more adequate treatment of sentiment the reader is referred to 
Titchener's "Text Book of Psychology," pp. 499/. 

173 



174 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

render to the situation, uncritical and unreserved. Sentiment 
usually involves less intense feeling, and is deliberative, call- 
ing for an exercise of judgment. We do not only experience 
the gratification which comes from the mere reading or con- 
templation, losing ourselves in it. We do not, as in emotion, 
merely feel because of its beauty or truth, but we feel that it 
is beautiful or true. Emotion in its lower forms is not of 
educational value. It is only with its development into sen- 
timent, involving intelligent judgment and its attendant feel- 
ing, that the work of instruction concerns itself, in what we 
have called the appreciation mode. 

Aim of Appreciation Instruction. — What is the aim of 
appreciation instruction? To say that it is to make the stu- 
dent feel is evidently not enough. In sentiment, the feeling 
necessarily accompanies a judgment. When we judge a 
given situation to be beautiful or good or true, the judgment 
has a strong feeling tone; it is decidedly pleasant. We say 
that we appreciate it. To train the student thus to respond, 
to correctly judge^and to judge feelingly, is what appreciation 
instruction seeks to accomplish. 

How can We know that the judgment upon which the 
student's appreciation is based is correct ? What constitutes 
this correctness of judgment? It is here that the personal 
factor enters. In matters of fact, such as dominate the prob- 
lematic mode, correctness implies agreement with an exter- 
nally determined situation. Either the stone falls sixteen 
feet in one second or it does not. Either the battle of Gettys- 
burg occurred in 1863 or it did not. Thus, the student's per- 
sonal attitude toward the situation is to be ignored in the 
judgment of facts. In the case of appreciation it is funda- 
mentally different. Here the judgment is not one of fact 
but one of value. The very essence of sentiment is the per- 
sonal character of the response. The present-day theory of 
sentiment, known as the doctrine of empathy, is that our 
responses to situations are determined by the injection of our- 
selves into them, the interpreting of them in terms of our own 



THE APPRECIATION MODE 1 7 5 

experience and feeling. It follows from this that no two per- 
sons will derive the same sentimental experience from a given 
situation, for the critical judgment is in terms of the person's 
own self, with its individual experiences and feeling attitudes. 

Appreciation instruction is not for the purpose of substi- 
tuting for the student's sentiment the sentiment of author, or 
artist, or even of teacher. Sentimental responses are not 
given, but arise from situations, and any attempt to dictate 
a sentimental response thwarts its own end by depriving it of 
its fundamental personal character. However, in the study 
of a work of art, such as a painting, poem, or novel, much of 
the artist's skill consists in presenting the situation not merely 
as it is, photograph- like, but as he sees it and experiences it, 
colored by his own response to it. In such cases it is but 
natural that in the main the student's response should be 
similar to that of the artist or author. Thus there is a unity 
of response between student and author, and the former is 
inspired to rise toward if not to the level of the author's 
experience, with all the aesthetic and ethical benefit to be 
derived from so doing. At the same time, the filling in of the 
detail out of the student's own Hfe experience and personality 
serves to make the whole really his own, even though at a 
higher level than he could have attained independently. 

Can appreciation be taught? The question has received 
various answers, either frankly stated or more or less clearly 
implied. The literary man, thinking perhaps of instruction 
as a mechanical inpouring of information, declares that ap- 
preciation cannot be taught. The writer on education, per- 
haps because he realizes the difficulty, perhaps because his 
attention is given more to the intellectual aspects of study, 
has little or nothing to say on the subject. The writer feels 
that here, as elsewhere, method can be employed, but that 
here, as elsewhere, the determining factor in instruction is 
the student's own activity, and that with intelligent, sym- 
pathetic procedure appreciation can be secured even though 
the procedure be difficult and exacting. Appreciation as a 



176 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

fixed response to a given situation is impossible, for its essence 
is its spontaneity. However, there is every reason why the 
teacher should lead the student to a better, richer understand- 
ing and interpretation of the situation, and to a response 
thereto, whether that response be intellectual or sentimental 
or both. It is in this sense of the term that appreciation can 
be taught. 

2. Types and Forms of Appreciation 

The Three Types. — Appreciation as a factor in secondary 
school instruction naturally falls into three types, following 
the three traditional types of sentiment: the intellectual, the 
aesthetic, and the ethical. Consciously or unconsciously, our 
critical judgment is in terms of the true, the beautiful, and the 
good, even though sharp lines of distinction between these 
are hard to draw and are for our purpose unessential. A 
given situation may appeal to us because of both its truth 
and its beauty. The story may attract us because we realize 
that it is true to life, harmonious in its thought, and inspiring 
to moral conduct. Instruction may lead the student to so 
interpret the situation as to discover and feel its truth, its 
beauty, its ethical character. 

Appreciation in the High School Curriculum. — ^With the 
increasing recognition of the fact that much of the content 
of the high school curriculum has but little practical knowl- 
edge value, there has grown up a disposition to discover as 
its supplement an appreciation value. Teachers of mathe- 
matics, science, and history are advocating the study of their 
respective subjects for the sake of the sentiment therein con- 
tained, thus sharing with literary study in the appreciation 
aim, though the place assigned it is necessarily subordinate.^ 

^ Young, "The Teaching of Mathematics," pp. 43-44; Lloyd and 
BIgelow, "The Teaching of Biology," pp. 253 jf.; Bourne, "The Teaching 
of History," pp. 99#.; Smith and Hall, "The Teaching of Physics and 
Chemistry," pp. 12-13. 



THE APPRECIATION MODE 1 77 

Students are to be taught not merely to know the truth but 
to love it as truth; not merely to know about beautiful things 
but to see and feel the beauty in them. 

Naturally the secondary school subject in which appre- 
ciation is the prominent and even the primary aim is the 
study of literature. Literature has long been viewed as the 
appreciation subject par excellence, and our study of the 
principles of appreciation will necessarily have peculiar refer- 
ence to it. With it, the sentiment is the chief element in the 
student's response, for its situations are essentially sentimen- 
tal in character. Accordingly the appreciation mode of in- 
struction will be for it the prevailing mode, though applicable 
in the other fields of learning in so far as sentimental as well 
as intellectual response is sought. The study of English com- 
position is a helpful means to the training of appreciation 
in that the understanding of technic involved renders the 
aesthetic judgment of literature more intelligent and sensitive. 
At the same time it stimulates and cultivates the imagination, 
thereby rendering sympathy with the imaginative in literature 
the more possible. 

3. Procedure in the Appreciation Mode 

The sentimental response is largely determined by the 
situation which occasions it. It is no violation of the prin- 
ciples of the foregoing paragraphs to say that the method of 
securing any type of response is to present to the individual 
a situation such as will induce in him the response in question. 
This is the foundation stone of the appreciation mode of 
instruction. 

The essential in instruction, in appreciation mode as well 
as in problematic, is the inciting of the student's self-activity. 
The task of the instructor is so to develop the situation that 
the students will respond in the best way and to the best de- 
gree, and it is in the ability so to develop situations that the 
success of the teacher of literature largely consists. The fol- 



178 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

lowing suggestions for appreciation instruction are but state- 
ments of the principles which hold in this development. 

1. Appreciation by the Teacher. — The teacher must him- 
self catch the spirit of the situation. He must be full of it; 
so full that he feels an eagerness to share it with others in 
whom he is interested. The importance of this lies partly 
in the fact that only under these conditions can he himself 
appreciate deeply and catch the force of the situation. If he 
seeks aesthetic appreciation, he must himself be alive to the 
beauty he would bring to the class. If he wishes to impress 
his pupils with the exactness of scientific truth, or with the 
moral lesson of an event in history or fiction, he must himself 
feel as well as recognize these qualities. Moreover, the mood 
of the teacher is largely determinative of the mood of the 
class, and the mood with which a class meet an appreciation 
situation affects greatly the response to that situation. For 
the teacher of an appreciation subject, such as literature, a 
personal relation of sympathy and friendliness between 
teacher and class both in and out of the classroom is in a 
peculiar way an invaluable asset for the securing of effects in 
the class instruction. 

2. Realness of Situation. — ^A vital, perhaps the most vital, 
requirement is that the appreciation situation shall be made 
as real and vivid to the class as possible. The poem of " Enoch 
Arden" can best be studied when the students have in imagina- 
tion seen the background and the characters of the story and 
the scenes enacted; and the childhood games and youthful 
interest of Annie, Philip, and Enoch are their own lives recon- 
structed in the new setting. An appeal to the student's own 
experience will both facilitate the arousal of the response to 
the new situation and deepen the impression made, involving 
a comparison and providing the basis for a generalization 
when one is sought. Especially for the high school student 
it is well first to paint the sensory imagery, calling attention 
to the images of sight, sound, and movement in so far as the 
nature of the subject permits. Pictures are here of value 



THE APPRECIATION MODE 1 79 

when well selected and wisely used. They need not be pic- 
tures intended for the purpose; indeed, such pictures often 
leave too little for the spontaneity of the student's imagina- 
tion. The students may profitably be called upon to bring 
to the class such pictures as seem to them to suggest the 
thought of the passage under consideration. The picture 
must, however, be used with discretion, since unessential and 
even negative elements may become prominent but undesir- 
able components of the student's mental picture. 

In productive work, such as English composition, the 
same principle holds. One reason that the essays and stories 
of school students are so often mechanical and weak is the 
lack of vividness of imagery with which the work is under- 
taken. Just as pictures help the elementary pupil to see the 
thing he is to write about, so in the high school a story or 
word-picture demands vividness and realness in the student's 
mind before any worthy production can be forthcoming. 

The suggestion that the imagery be real and vivid carries 
with it a corresponding danger. Realness and vividness must 
not be confused with completeness of detail. The object 
sought in this case is not information but suggestion, and the 
picture showing detail often indicates too much to the imagina- 
tion of the student. This holds not alone of the printed pic- 
ture but of the word-picture as well. If it is to be the pupil's 
own response, one in which the personal factor is to function, 
the best picture is that in general terms and broad outlines, 
the remainder being left for the imagination of the pupil to 
fill in. Appreciation situations cannot and should not mean 
the same or elicit the same response with different persons, 
and the instructor who even unwittingly forces upon the class 
his own interpretation robs the class of that for which the 
lesson is intended. Sentimentally as well as intellectually it 
is a violation of the principle of student self -activity. 

After the sensory imagery of the situation has been secured, 
the idealized and abstract imagination should also be devel- 
oped. Little if any of the appreciation material studied in 



l8o PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING' 

the high school is solely for the sake of the sensory imagery, 
but should lead ultimately to appreciation of the higher 
order. It is in this final stage that the student is ready to 
take home to himself the deeper sentimental significance of 
the situation. With the background properly painted and 
the appropriate atmosphere created, the central features of 
the picture, for which the other imagery was preparatory, 
can be filled in with the best and most lasting effect. Using 
again the illustration of "Enoch Arden," the moral conflict 
and ultimate victory of Enoch are made more significant to 
the student after its setting has been realized. 

In securing this imagery the student must not be a passive 
listener or reader. He must supplement from his own imagi- 
nation, and must help in the painting of the picture or the 
creation of the situation. Reading aloud by the student of 
the passage studied is often a means for securing this contri- 
bution in that the reading enables the student to in part paint 
the picture himself. It need hardly be added that the only 
reading in which this is accomplished is that in which the 
student really makes the reading a conveyor of content and 
interpretation, instead of being the halting, expressionless 
performance so often tolerated even in the high school class 
in English.! ^ l^l-^j. reading by the teacher, especially if ably 
done, will assist in the interpretation by giving another, pre- 
sumably a more adequate, rendering. 

3. Familiarity with Medium of Expression. — Closely re- 
lated to the last-named requirement is the further one that 
the student be familiar with the medium of expression, includ- 
ing the facts, the peculiar idioms and words, and the allusions 
employed by the author in the selection studied. In other 
words, the student must have an adequate "apperceptive 
mass" before the lesson can be mastered. In literature, and 
especially in poetry, the medium of expression includes also 
such factors as literary style, rhythm, and rhyme. Of these, 
the rhythm and rh)ane contribute to aesthetic feeling in a 
* Cj, Colvin, "The Learning Process," p. 125. 



-; • THE APPRECIATION MODE l8l 

more mechanical way, and are the easier to study, while the 
appeal of literary style is of a higher and more subtle type.^ 
In much the same way, the study of technic of the expression 
of thought and feeling renders the expression more effectual, 
as well as capacitates the student for the appreciation of good 
expression by others. 

It is here that the study element of appreciation enters, 
for a goodly part of literary study consists in an examination 
of medium of expression, without which interpretation would 
be impossible. The enthusiastic teacher, eager to secure the 
appreciation element of the lesson, is often tempted to over- 
look this, the foundation of the interpretation. Rather than 
fail to insure this foundation, the teacher should, before 
seeking to secure the appreciation, question the class in order 
to make sure that the medium of its expression is clear, as 
well as to revive in consciousness the data which render the 
appreciation possible. This suggests to us the much-debated 
question whether the class should undertake the analytic 
study of a literary selection for the first time in the same 
class exercise in which the appreciation is undertaken, or as 
a home assignment in preparation for the appreciation class 
exercise. Possibly the best plan is to follow the former pro- 
cedure when the language or content is readily understood, 
and the latter when a considerable degree of study is a pre- 
requisite for the appreciation. 

But the study of these things is not a study of literature 
or literary creation. It is not the end but the means to the 
end, and the too common practice of permitting instruction 
in literature to degenerate into a study of its medium tends 
rather to give the student the notion that literature is merely 
language. It is like pulling the flower to pieces in quest of 
its beauty, or looking at the telescope instead of looking 
through it. "Let the English teacher teach the life that lies 
beneath the word, and there will be no more occasion to 

1 Cf. Judd, "Psychology of High School Subjects," pp. 184, 194. "^' 



l82 PRINCIPLES or TEACHING 

complain of a lack of aesthetic appreciation/'^ The author, 
like the public speaker or reader, seeks to secure a response 
as directly as possible, and the less attention is required by 
the medium of expression, the more adequate is the expression. 
Excess of detail in appreciation instruction prevents rather 
than furthers appreciation. Carried over into another field, 
this criticism applies with equal force to the effort to make 
the student of Vergil appreciate the beauty of his style when 
his unfamiliarity with the language limits his attention to the 
mechanical aspects of his labored translation. He merely 
sees words and phrases, with no opportunity for feeling. 
Moreover, even when appreciation is really possible and 
sought after, it is not necessary, because of our respect for 
thoroughness, to fall into pedantry, and imagine that the 
student must know everything about everything in the selec- 
tion. The ability to evaluate correctly is a quality of mind 
invaluable to the teacher of literature. 

4. Understanding of Thought. — ^Higher than the consid- 
eration of imagery and of medium of expression stands the 
study of the thought itself. Not merely, how does the 
author say it, but, what does he say? To simply follow the 
story of a narrative, whether in literature or in history, and 
to treat it as merely a series of events is to miss utterly the 
aim for which its study is intended. Knowledge of how to 
demonstrate a proposition and to trace the effect of environ- 
ment on plant life is not all that geometry and botany should 
produce. Back of these events and processes lies a higher 
meaning, a truth or beauty, moral or intellectual or aesthetic, 
which gives them value, and in so far as adapted to the 
maturity of the student, this meaning must be discovered. 
The student in the literature class who gets merely the ''run 
of the story'' is not studying literature. 

To a greater or less degree, there must be an analysis of 
the content, and the points obvious enough for the teacher 

1 M. Catherine Mahy, in "-Esthetic Appreciation of Literature in Sec- 
ondary Education," School Review^ December, 1907. 



THE APPRECIATION MODE 183 

must be so illuminated as to stand out for the pupiFs notice. 
In almost all of the material studied in the high school, not 
excluding literature, there is an aim broader than the under- 
standing and appreciation of the particular point or selection. 
Merely the ability to appreciate ''In Memoriam" is not the 
justification for its study. Rather, it is treated as a type of 
literary production; the others similar to it cannot all be 
considered in the classroom or school, but the ability and 
disposition to read them later are to be trained. Recalling 
our discussion of formal training,^ we recognize the necessity 
of dwelling not upon the particular features but the broader 
meaning of the selection, its ideas and generalizations, and it 
is of the development of these that the highest form of lit- 
erary analysis must consist. 

The degree to which such analytic study of literature 
should be carried naturally depends on many factors, such 
as the maturity of the class, their previous literary training, 
and the character of the content. That it should extend to 
an understanding of the general plan of the selection is self- 
evident. That excessive analysis distracts attention and 
deadens appreciation is equally evident. It involves a fur- 
ther danger of reading into a passage a meaning which is not 
intended and which detracts from rather than furthers the 
student's personal reaction. Quoting from Professor Baker: 
*'One general principle seems to me to cover all such study: 
the analysis that reveals to the pupil new meanings within 
his power of comprehension, and new beauties within his 
power of appreciation, while keeping true to the spirit and 
tenor of the literature as it is known to scholars — such analy- 
sis is not only safe but of the very essence of good teaching." ^ 
Substituting the word "subject" for ''literature" in the quota- 
tion, the principle is equally valid in every department of 
study whenever appreciation is sought as either primary or 
secondary aim. 

1 Cf, p. 24. 

2 Cf. Carpenter, Baker, and Scott, "The Teaching of English," p. 281. 



184 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

5. Appeal of Situation. — The appreciation situation must 
be of a sort to really act on the student — such that he will 
react to it. One of the prime considerations in the selection 
of material for the class in literature is the appeal which it 
will make to the student, and that whose intellectual or senti- 
mental plane transcends the reach of the high school pupil 
has no place in the secondary school curriculum. In the 
same way, the appreciation of the beauty or truth of a scien- 
tific principle or process may be possible only for the trained 
adult, and quite meaningless for the inexperienced youth. 
But, granting the appropriateness of the content, its presen- 
tation to the pupil is equally important. The teacher must, 
by discussion, exposition, and questioning, lead the student 
to a real reaction. The sentimental element must be made 
subjective and personal. The student must, consciously or 
perhaps unconsciously, ask himself the question, What do / 
think, how do / feel in this matter? Without this, it is not 
appreciation but examination, not studying literature but 
studying about it. The situation must be brought home to 
the student as his own experience. He must feel that the 
mathematical demonstration, the scientific truth, the moral 
lesson, or the sentiment in his composition, is really his, and 
that he has made it his either by discovering or by adopting 
it. Otherwise his attitude will be merely intellectual and not 
appreciative. One of the chief purposes in literary study is 
to secure sympathetic feeling, yet this can never be accom- 
plished without the personal response in the face of the situa- 
tion. The pupil is to be led to relive the experience of the au- 
thor; not actually, it is true, but ideally. The effect upon 
character-development of thus ideally living the experiences 
of noble souls, in sharing in a measure their emotions and im- 
pulses, of feeling as they felt, is more than one might imagine. 
The sharing of worthy motives and decisions, even in imagina- 
tion, has a positive moral-training value too great to be neg- 
lected. 

Possibly the most baneful influence in appreciation proce- 



THE APPRECIATION MODE 185 

dure is that of pettiness. The appeal to the student is based 
on the worth of the object of appreciation, and when a teacher 
expresses enthusiasm over that which to the student is un- 
worthy or trifling, the mood of disgust aroused will prove 
fatal for the subsequent appreciation even of the worthy. In 
the same way, the teacher who "gushes" over a literary selec- 
tion, whose effort to induce the student's enthusiasm takes 
the form of a mere declaration that the selection is worthy, 
does not thereby lead the thoughtful student to the same 
enthusiasm. "Isn't that beautiful!" "Don't you think this 
a beautiful passage?" and "You can't help admiring Enoch 
Arden, can you?" will lead to no valuable results unless the 
student sees for himself that the teacher's declarations are 
justified, and in the latter case they are often superfluous. 
Omit the intelligent basis for appreciation and it becomes 
mere emotion. 

6. Classroom Atmosphere. — The atmosphere of the class- 
room doubtless plays a larger part in the appreciation mode 
than in any other form of instruction. Control of sentiment is 
far more difficult than control of thought, and conditions in the 
midst of which the student could force himself to intellectual 
activity may well be such as to preclude sentimental apprecia- 
tion. To the securing of a favorable mood, the whole environ- 
ment contributes in greater or less degree and in various ways. 
The tempo of the class exercise is especially important. 
While in general the tempo in appreciation instruction should 
be somewhat slow, possibly because time is required for ideas 
to arouse their sentimental response, the movement must 
after all be determined by the thought, not merely expressed 
but unexpressed as well. Interruptions in appreciation are 
especially to be avoided, partly because of the impatience of 
mood occasioned, still more because feeling follows directly 
from situations, and when interrupted is very likely to be 
lost or at least weakened and altered as a result. 



l86 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

4. SUMAIARY 

Sentiment, upon which appreciation is based, cannot be 
directly imparted by instruction, but can be induced by the 
supplying of suitable situations. 

Appreciation, like sentiment, is either intellectual, aesthetic, 
or ethical. 

The conditions essential to appreciation instruction are a 
sympathetic instructor, a real situation, a familiar medium of 
expression, an understanding -of the thought, a situation 
which appeals to the student, and a favorable classroom 
atmosphere. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. In general, judgment is based upon knowledge and experience. 
For example, judgments of distance, of value, and of methods of pro- 
cedure. Is this true of the judgments upon which sentiment is based? 
What does your answer imply as regards the possibility of teaching 
pupils to appreciate? 

2. Will training in the appreciation of poetry facilitate the appre- 
ciation of prose? Of painting? Justify your answer. Suggest im- 
plications of your answer. 

3. As ordinarily taught, does the study of geometry develop intel- 
lectual or logical appreciation? Suggest how it should be taught in 
order to do so. 

4. What type or types of appreciation should the study of botany 
develop ? 

5. Suggest ways in which the teacher of literature may increasingly 
"catch the spirit of the situation" upon which the appreciation lesson 
is to be based. 

6. Is a strong power of imagination essential for the successful 
student of literature? 

7. In the appreciation element in English composition, just what 
does the student appreciate? His own thought and style? The ob- 
ject of which he writes ? Thus, in describing a landscape, which does 
he appreciate: the landscape or his description of it? 

8. What types of appreciation have most appeal for high school 
boys? For high school girls? Can you suggest an explanation for 
these differences? 



THE APPRECIATION MODE 187 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Titchener, "Textbook of Psychology," pp. 498-503. 

Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap. VII. 

Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. X. 

Judd, "Psychology of High School Subjects," chap. IX. 

Gerson, "Appreciation: An Educational Aim," in Current Education^ 
September, 1916. 

Carpenter, Baker, and Scott, "The Teaching of English in the Ele- 
mentary and the Secondary School," pp. 278-281. 

Arlo Bates, "Talks on the Teaching of Literature," especially chap. 
VIII. 

Bolenius, "Teaching Literature in Grammar Grades and High School." 

Thomas, "The Teaching of English in the Secondary School." 



CHAPTER X 

THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 

I. Character and Function 

One need not be a pragmatist to realize that the learning 
and feeling of the school instruction should lead to something 
beyond learning and feeling. It is in this uniting of intellect, 
feeling, and action as three phases of a single process that the 
formation of both moral and intellectual character consists. 
''No impression without expression" is an old pedagogical 
maxim which recognizes this principle. The generally ac- 
cepted fact that only usable knowledge is true knowledge ex- 
presses much the same thought. 

Meaning of Expression and Application. — In the develop- 
ment procedure, both problematic and appreciation, the stu- 
dent is responding to a situation which confronts him and 
appeals to him. In both modes of development the student's 
aim is in terms of the response itself, and takes no account of 
anything beyond it and resulting from it. The thinking and 
feeling are solely for the sake of the thinking and the feeling. 
However, when this response has been aroused there follows 
the further step, the expression-application procedure, which 
aims at the extension of the process beyond the bounds of the 
person or field in which it originated. The student desires to 
extend his thought and feeling to persons other than himself, 
and his power to cases other than that from which it arose. 
Thus we have the expression and the application as two 
phases of the expansion and extension of the intellectual and 
sentimental processes, with the expression la)dng emphasis on 
the formulation of the thought or feeling, and the application 
on its use. 

i88 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 189 

Educational Value. — Possibly the expression and applica- 
tion provide the chief ethical and social values of the class 
exercise. The essence of moral and social training hes in the 
abihty and the disposition to employ the feeling and intellec- 
tual products for the accompHsWent of further results. So 
long as teaching stops with knowledge and feeling, culture 
will be selfish and formal. Only when the student has the 
ability and the disposition to share his experience and to use 
his knowledge will the broader function of education be real- 
ized. The expression of a sentiment usually carries with it 
an ethical momentum, in that it commits the individual to 
its realization in conduct. A sentiment which does not have 
bound to it some form of expression is not educative but 
harmful, both individually and socially, for it induces selfish- 
ness and deprives society of the service which the expression 
of helpful sentiment induces. 

It must not be supposed, however, that sentiment alone 
is to be expressed or knowledge alone applied. What really 
happens is that both are first expressed and then applied in 
so far as the nature of each allows of that expression and 
application. The expressing and the applying are so closely 
related in character that a sharp line of separation cannot be 
drawn, the same activity often serving as both expression 
and application at the same time. In form, if not in aim, 
expression often involves application, just as application may 
be viewed as a kind of expression. 

Apart from the social and ethical impHcations of the 
expression-application instruction, there are several consider- 
ations to be observed in judging of its function and value. 
From the teacher's standpoint, the expression and applica- 
tion serve as possibly the best test of the efficacy of the 
instruction. The method factor of testing is thus applied in 
the expression-application mode, though to a less degree and 
in a more limited way than in the recitation mode. If the 
student can tell adequately what he has learned and can use 
it readily and accurately, it is safe to infer that the learning 



igo PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

was adequate. It is too easy to assume that when the class 
seem to understand and appreciate the lesson, the instruction 
process has attained its goal, and the ability to tell or use is 
taken for granted. 

A further value to the student of expressing his thought 
and feeling lies in the fact that the act of expression involves 
the formulation, which adds much to the definiteness and 
depth of impression. Before he can accomplish much in the 
way of expression he must bring his impression to conscious- 
ness and organize and evaluate his thought. From the stand- 
point of linguistic training, oral expression may serve, as 
Professor Dewey has said, to enlarge the pupil's vocabulary, 
render its terms more precise and accurate, and form habits of 
consecutive discourse. So, too, the application or using of his 
knowledge in the accomplishment of his purpose provides the 
flesh and blood, the vitalizing element, without which its 
significance would be lost. The knowledge acquired in the 
class exercise is at best of an outline character, due in part 
to the limitations of the student's experience, and needs the 
filling in which only a broader use and appKcation can supply. 

A still further value lies in the skill which comes with the 
use of an acquired process or capacity. As knowledge should 
lead to action, so it should be rendered usable through prac- 
tice. One of the most frequent complaints against much of 
our high school education is that, although the graduate 
knows many things, he cannot use that knowledge or do the 
things which such knowledge should fit him to do. As at 
present organized, the typical secondary education offers far 
less training for '' knowing how" than for ''knowing things" 
or *' knowing about" them. The element of efficiency should 
be a fundamental one in learning. 

2. Forms of Expression and Application 

The line of distinction between expression and application 
is, as we have seen, not sharply drawn. Not merely may the 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 191 

same process serve both functions, as expression and as appli- 
cation, but even the two functions are not always distinct. 
The boy writing an essay is at the same time expressing his 
thought and feeling and applying his knowledge of the prin- 
ciples of EngUsh composition. There are, however, certain 
typical forms of expression and of application, a study of 
which will assist in bringing to the teacher's consciousness the 
function and consequent essentials of the expression and ap- 
plication procedure in secondary instruction. 

Forms of Expression. — Opportunity for student expression 
occurs constantly in both recitation and development. When- 
ever the student tells what he knows or thinks or how he 
feels, the activity is one of expression. The restatement of a 
rule formulated by the class, the description of an event 
learned of in his home study or witnessed by himself, the 
explanation of a problem which he has solved, and the pass- 
ing of a judgment concerning social, moral, or aesthetic values, 
all these are but instances of the many forms of student ex- 
pression common in all secondary instruction. The answer 
to a question or even the formulation of a question is usually 
the expression either of an idea or of the consciousness of a 
need. Viewed in this way, the method factor of expression 
permeates the entire student activity, and occurs through- 
out the whole class exercise, including both lesson develop- 
ment and recitation. 

One of the essential functions of the study of English com- 
position is that of the expression of the student's thought and 
feeling, a function too often subordinated to its other func- 
tion, that of application. What can be more deadening for 
thought than the all too common attitude of viewing the 
composition work as essentially and primarily a formal drill 
in the application of linguistic and rhetorical rules, rendering 
the study formal in the extreme? The fact that language is 
essentially a medium for the expression of ideas and feelings is 
being more and more recognized in modern study, as is shown 
in the fact that the cultivation of ideas as the basis for Eng- 



192 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

lish composition is gaining an ever larger place in linguistic 
study. The expression element in literary study finds an 
excellent opportunity in the attention given to more ade- 
quate oral reading, and in the occasional dramatization of 
appropriate pieces of literature. Indeed, sympathetic listen- 
ing to good reading and observing of able dramatization may 
to no small degree serve the same end. 

Forms of Application. — The forms of application are quite 
as various as are those of expression, and appear almost as 
frequently in instruction. Moreover, application is frequently 
much more complex in character, and accordingly many of 
its forms occupy a large part of the student's attention and 
form extensive exercises for his classroom and home study. 
Whenever he works an example in algebra, tests for an acid 
in chemistry, employs a method of study in history, conven- 
tionalizes a figure in drawing, or performs an act because he 
thinks it is right, he is applying a principle or principles 
acquired in previous study. The writing of an essay in Eng- 
lish composition, although primarily an exercise in expres- 
sion, is none the less an application of the rules and principles 
in the employment of which the student seeks proficiency. 
Thus the application serves to complete the concrete-abstract- 
concrete movement of thought as suggested in an earlier 
chapter. 

One of the forms of application which is gaining in avail- 
ability because of its increased employment in present-day 
teaching is that afforded by laboratory instruction. Whether 
the chief aim of the laboratory procedure is verification or 
discovery is a question to be treated in the succeeding chap- 
ter. In all its forms, however, whether the experimental or 
the observational, in the library or in the field, the student is 
at almost every step applying some principle of fact or of 
method. His manipulation of the galvanometer is an appli- 
cation of previously studied laws of the electric current. 
The drawing of the botanical specimen involves his applica^ 
tion of various principles already acquired. In a similar way 



THE EXPRESSION" APPLICATION MODE 1 93 

laboratory exercises in mathematics, in history, in English, all 
involve the factor of application. 

Whatever elements may be involved, application is prob- 
ably one of the most important, perhaps the most conspicuous 
element in translation in the study of foreign languages. 
Here the student finds constant occasion for the emplo3nnent 
of the grammatical laws and rules of his previous study. 
Each phrase and clause must be interpreted only by means 
of these rules and laws. The forms of words, their order, and 
even their selection must be justified by means of principles 
to which they can be referred. Problematic and appreciation 
modes are frequent components of translation, yet their pres- 
ence does not preclude but rather involves the application 
mode as well. 

Possibly the most common as well as typical form of appli- 
cation is that afforded in the exercises and problems com- 
monly assigned both for classroom and for home work. The 
development of a principle of method in algebra is followed 
by the assignment of a number of "examples" to be worked, 
at the board or in the home study. When the physics student 
has learned the law of falling bodies, he is called upon to 
compute a variety of instances prepared and selected to in- 
volve that law. Having been shown the method of compar- 
ing two authors as to type of imagery, he is assigned similar 
exercises for laboratory study in library or the home. The 
development of the ablative absolute in the class exercise 
is followed by exercises to be prepared in which that lan- 
guage construction is to be employed. A large part of the 
student's activity in drawing, manual training, domestic 
science and art, and the commercial branches may be classed 
as application. Thus, the list of forms of classroom and 
home study exercises, as forms of appHcation procedure, 
might be extended through the various studies of the school 
curriculum. 



194 principles of teaching 

3. Home Study as Application 

Mistaken Conception of Home Study. — The meaning and 
function of the assignment for home study are perhaps less 
often clearly understood, even by comparatively good teach- 
ers, than is any other part of the instruction process. Not 
infrequently home preparation of lessons is interpreted as the 
real learning activity. The student is supposed to learn his 
lesson at home in the evening, so that he will be able to recite 
it in school the next day.* This is but another phase of the 
old conception of the class exercise as distinctively and pri- 
marily a recitation exercise. The fallacy of the latter we 
have endeavored to indicate explicitly in the preceding chap- 
ters of this text. It is hoped that the corresponding fallacy 
regarding home study has thereby been shown at least im- 
plicitly. 

Earlier in our study we saw that learning and feeling 
occur only in response to a clearly recognized situation, and 
that it is the teacher's function to bring this situation to con- 
sciousness and to incite and guide the response to it. In 
other words, the teacher is an essential in the most effectual 
learning and feeling. In the exploration of unknown realms 
of thought, the pupil is too immature, too inexperienced to be 
an independent self-teacher, even though he must needs par- 
ticipate actively in the instruction process. Development is, 
as we have seen, the most effectual and satisfactory method 

^ In the Ladies' Home Journal for January, 1913, is given an incident 
which illustrates strikingly the principle we have just suggested. A 
widow came to the superintendent of schools with the following complaint: 
*' I have four little girls attending your schools. I am up at five o'clock 
in the morning to get them off to school and to get myself off to work. It 
is six o'clock in the evening when I reach home again, pretty well worn 
out, and after we have had dinner and have tidied up the house a bit it is 
eight o'clock. Then, tired as I am, I sit down and teach the little girls 
the lessons your teachers will hear them say over on the following day. 
Now, if it is all the same to you, it would be a great help and favor to me 
if you would have your teachers teach the lessons during the day, and then 
all I would have to do at night would be to hear them say them over." 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 195 

of dealing with new material in instruction, and the impossi- 
bility of development in home study negates any conception 
of the latter as essentially the meeting of and response to fun- 
damentally new situations. 

Relation to Class Exercise. — If, then, home study is 
neither preparation for recitation nor lesson development, 
what is it ? A possible reply, and one often heard to-day, is 
that it is superfluous or even positively harmful. The other 
reply, and that on which the present section is based, is that 
the home study is primarily a continuation of the class exer- 
cise procedure, to be carried on and brought to completion 
after the class hour is over. ^'Home work should have the 
character of completing the class work of the previous day, 
not of preparing for the next. This will enable even the slow 
pupil to apply his time to it with success and profit. Let the 
pupil struggle with really new work under the supervision of 
the teacher, but let home work be preceded by enough similar 
work in the classroom to furnish the pupil a clew to prevent 
his working in the dark. With this new role assigned to the 
home work a change in class methods should follow."^ Thus 
its basis is always in the class exercise which preceded it, and 
not in that which is to follow. It has a backward rather than 
a forward reference. It may mean the application of the 
principles or facts of the class exercise to other similar prob- 
lems; or, since not all new material has to be taught in the 
classroom,^ it may consist in the study of new problems, 
employing the methods of investigation acquired in class. 
In either case, however, it is an application activity, whether 
of fact, of process, or of method. 

To the much-discussed question. Is home work justifiable ? 
we are now prepared to give an at least relative answer. If 
the application activity can be so much better completed in 

* E. R. Breslich, in article, "Supervised Study as Supplementary In- 
struction," in Thirteenth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of 
Education, part I, p. 70. 

2C/. p. 118. 



196 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the classroom than in the home that it is better to restrict it 
to the former entirely, a negative answer is implied. On the 
other hand, if we decide that the maturity of the high school 
student and the brevity of the class period are such as to 
render home study more of a gain than a loss, all things con- 
sidered, we are rendering an affirmative answer. The aim 
and value of home study will receive more adequate consid- 
eration later (Chapter XII). It will satisfy our present need 
thus to point out the basis for the choice of procedures, and 
indicate some of the essentials which a home assignment 
would involve. 

4. Essentials of Expression and Application 

Since the expression and application procedures are the 
final step and in a measure the climax of the instruction, their 
significance in determining the final form and meaning of 
what is learned and felt is obviously great. Feeling and 
learning must culminate in expression and application, or 
their value will largely disappear. Naturally we determine 
the essentials of good expression and application by reference 
to their function, since a procedure is good in proportion as it 
adequately accomplishes its aim. Expression is the transmit- 
ting to others of one's knowing and feeling experiences. The 
application factor of instruction serves the general purpose 
of bringing the abstract concept or formal principle down to 
the level of the concrete, converting ideas and ideals into 
things and acts. In so doing, both afford opportunity for 
testing the results of the development procedure, and provide 
definiteness and completeness to what has been learned and 
felt, and skill in its use. Thus the two partially coincide in 
educational value, as they often do in character. As the 
classroom application and the home study differ somewhat 
in function, the latter being an expansion of the former and 
under the student's own initiative and guidance, the require- 
ments of the two will only partially coincide. 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 197 

1. Adequacy. — Expression shall be adequate, both in form 
and in content. Because of its value for linguistic training, 
whether oral or written, care should be taken not merely that 
the expression be in good English but that the language be 
so chosen as to convey the correct meaning. Care in the 
construction of sentences, as well as in the selection of exact 
terms, is essential if expression is to realize its possibilities 
for linguistic training. The requirement that the content be 
adequately expressed follows naturally from its value for the 
rendering of thought and feeling definite. Nothing will so 
effectually clarify and organize mental experiences as will 
their expression, involving as it does their elevation to con- 
sciousness and their arrangement and formulation for another 
person's interpretation. Training in expression must train 
the pupil to think of what he says in terms of the hearer or 
reader. 

2. Genuineness. — The expression shall be genuine. The 
student's reporting as his own an experience which he has 
not had occasions harm to himself and mistaken belief on the 
part of the teacher. He may, by a clever or lucky combina- 
tion of phrases, get credit for the idea desired, though the 
idea itself be imperfectly understood or wholly lacking. He 
may for any of several reasons seemingly express a certain 
sentiment which he does not really feel. Intellectual insin- 
cerity may not be wholly the pupil's fault, but may result in 
large measure from overpressure by the teacher, or even from 
the student's conscientiousness. Under the necessity of say- 
ing something appropriate, he says what he thinks is wanted, 
even perhaps imagining he knows or feels what he is endeav- 
oring to express. The teacher's most adequate remedy seems 
to be to follow up the statements with questioning, and to 
manifest and emphasize a higher evaluation of truth than of 
appropriate answers. 

3. Immediacy. — ^The application in the classroom should 
follow immediately after the principle has been developed. 
An abstraction which does not have its concrete application 



198 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

closely bound to it will soon disappear. The significance of a 
concept is intelligible only in terms of its relation to the con- 
crete world of the student's experience, and either the two 
must be present simultaneously in the student's conscious- 
ness or they will fail to be properly associated and identified. 
When the student has come to understand the binomial 
theorem, he should then and there raise a number of binomials 
to higher powers. When he has learned the method of conju- 
gating a Latin verb, he should be called upon to conjugate 
other similar verbs. The development of the principle of 
capillary attraction should be promptly followed by its appli- 
cation to phenomena involving it. After the class is shown 
the method and view-point of the interpretation of a literary 
selection or a historical period, opportunity should be pro- 
vided for the further interpretation with this newly acquired 
method and view-point. In foreign language study, writing 
from dictation, which is itself a form of application, should 
at once be followed by correction of the work done, so that 
the correct form rather than the incorrect may become the 
permanent possession of the pupil. 

Herbartian pedagogy collects the entire application ac- 
tivity into a distinct step, called the Application step, and 
naturally places it at the end of the class exercise. That the 
class exercise may very profitably close with a good degree 
of application is an evident and important consideration in 
secondary instruction. There it may well serve as a unifying 
procedure, showing the relation between seemingly discon- 
nected ideas through their bearing upon common problems 
and situations. There are many times, however, when an 
at least partial application of a point may best be made 
immediately upon its presentation, mingling the development 
and application factors in instruction. In such cases, which 
in secondary instruction are especially common, a further dis- 
tinct application procedure at the close of the hour is by no 
means precluded but rather is frequently desirable. 

4. Typicality. — The application should be typical. The 
lesson development is necessarily restricted in the range of 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 199 

cases studied, most of the emphasis being laid on a single rep- 
resentative instance. In applying a principle, therefore, its 
range should be extended, in order that the various forms in 
which the central thought is found may be such as to at least 
indicate the scope of its validity. Though the abstract prin- 
ciple takes a single formulation, its concrete forms are neces- 
sarily various. When the student has learned that the dif- 
ference of two squares factors into the sum and difference of 
the numbers, he should apply the law to a variety of forms of 
the problem: e. g., a^ — b^, x^ — 4, 4X^ — i, 40^ — gb^, a^ — b^ 
— 2bc — c^, etc. Having observed the general effects of 
wave erosion, he should apply the principle to a number of 
cases which represent the different types of situation in which 
it is involved. Evidently these should be progressively com- 
plex, so that each involves an advance and development out 
of the preceding, in accordance with the suggestion already 
made: *' Proceed from the simple to the complex." The am- 
bitious teacher is in danger of endeavoring to develop the 
student's ability to apply his new-found knowledge by giv- 
ing him too large a proportion of difScult problems. The 
student must first "find himself" in problems within his 
grasp, and then gradually advance to more difficult ones. 
Often a multitude of easy applications of a principle to cases 
arising from actual experience will do more to secure readi- 
ness in its use than a small number of difiicult ones. 

The home study exercise should, like the classroom appli- 
cation, be typical. The chief difference would lie in the fact 
that whereas the latter for want of time merely introdicces 
the student to each type, home study involves more extended 
drill or detailed investigation upon a number of cases under 
each type. The work of the class exercise is thus adapted to 
procedure under guidance; the home study demands rather 
the initiative and self-reliance of the student working alone. 
This is not to imply that the home study shall not introduce 
the student to anything new. It means, rather, that it shall 
deal with material or problems to which the lesson hour has 
introduced him and for whose study it has prepared him. 



200 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

It is just this procedure from what has been studied t© its 
further implications and applications which constitutes true 
progress, and such progress as this is to characterize both the 
classroom application and the home study exercise. 

5. Significance. — The application shall be intelligent. 
When the student seeks to apply a method of procedure, he 
must know not merely the how but the why. He must be 
conscious of the aim of the procedure, and must see that the 
method employed is really the appropriate one for the realiza- 
tion of that aim. Too often the so-called application activity 
of the high school pupil is mere imitation. He sees how the 
teacher performs the operation, and when called upon repeats 
the process mechanically, indifferent to its justification. A 
fundamental aim in education is the training of the student 
intelligently to meet situations in life by adaptation of means 
to end. Not merely does the mechanical application fail to 
fit the student for the meeting of the specific intellectual situ- 
ation under consideration, but it inculcates the mental atti- 
tude and habit of unintelligent imitation in all activities of 
life. This is clearly a failure to develop initiative; a viola- 
tion of the principle of student self-activity. 

Application is not intelligent unless the student appreci- 
ates the character of the end sought, and realizes that his 
efforts are at least an approximation to that end. A certain 
degree of conscious success is necessary for profitable effort, 
especially with younger people. In the study of a foreign 
language an attempt to translate into the new language 
before one is sufficiently advanced leads to an artificiahty of 
product which is distasteful to the student and at the same 
time induces bad habits which negate any benefit otherwise 
derived from the exercise. 

6. Universality. — The application activity of the class 
exercise should be general. It is not enough that one student 
should make the application and the rest of the class render 
intellectual assent and approval. The testing aim of the 
application procedure is evidently defeated thereby; much 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 201 

more, the aims based upon the student's intellectual training. 
In so far as possible, every member of the class should himself 
make the applications, as intensively and extensively as the 
conditions of the class exercise permit. It is here that the 
use of the blackboard is of especial service, and the teacher 
may well so plan the lesson as to make provision for its use 
in so far as the character of the work permits. When but 
part of the class can work at the board, seat work can be 
utilized for the remainder, although the inconvenience of its 
employment for class discussion and criticism is a serious 
disadvantage. 

The requirement that application shall be general, how- 
ever, does not mean that every student shall, either orally 
or in writing, make every application demanded of the class. 
As was suggested in the discussion of the question, the stu- 
dent who conscientiously and fully follows through the 
thought of his fellow student's application, comparing it with 
his own thought in the matter, is in no small degree making 
a real application, even though unexpressed, and derives a 
real benefit from the recitation of every other member of the 
class. 

5. The Lesson Assignment 

Relation to Class Work. — In an earlier section of this 
chapter the function of the home study was seen to be that 
of an application and amplification of the material developed 
or method employed in the preceding class exercise or exer- 
cises. Incidentally, this naturally implies that it is usually 
to form the basis for the recitation procedure of the class 

hour, and in a manner to thus serve as a propaedeutic for the \ 

subsequent lesson development, thus completing the cycle 
and constituting the unity of the instruction process from 
day to day. When home study is eliminated, it simply means 
that the application procedure of each class exercise is so 
extended and so organized as to include the work usually 
assigned to the home. 



202 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

This relation of the home study to the application proce- 
dure of the previous class hour adds a new importance to 
application. Too often the teacher, pressed for time at the 
close of the hour, leaves all the application work to the home 
study, with disastrous results. The first application of a 
newly encountered principle or method is usually a source of 
considerable difficulty for the student, and needs the close 
attention of the instructor, guiding, adapting, and correcting. 
Unless the teacher has introduced his class to the concrete 
implications of a lesson and tested for the adequacy and 
accuracy of the learning, the next class hour will very often 
disclose results which are valueless or even of negative value. 
At the same time, one of the chief aims of home study is to 
develop initiative, and the classroom application fails if it 
does not train the pupil to do hard things, to master difficult 
problems independently. 

Time of Assignment. — ^At what time in the class hour 
should the lesson be assigned? The function of home study 
and its relation to the application procedure naturally sug- 
gest that it should come at the close of the hour. Some 
educators, realizing its importance and the great danger of 
its being slighted if left to the close, have advocated for it an 
earlier position: even the first place in the class hour has been 
accorded it by some teachers of good standing. However, 
the policy of doing a thing wrongly for fear of neglecting its 
performance entirely does not appeal to us as justifiable. 
The teacher can as truly reserve a place for it at the close of 
the hour as he can plan to close the lesson at the end of the 
hour. On the other hand, the arguments in favor of its loca- 
tion after the application procedure are too strong to ignore. 
The assignment of a task is at best vague and uninspiring 
when its significance is not understood. An assignment 
should not take the form so often found: "Take the next 
three pages,'' ".Work the first ten problems on page 40," 
"Write an essay on some topic which interests you." A 
truly educative task is one that arises out of a definite situa- 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 203 

tion which is in a general way understood by the student 
and challenges him as a thing to be done for the meeting of 
the situation. To assign the lesson before that situation has 
been developed prevents this interest because it provides it 
no foundation. The lesson assigned, therefore, must be one 
that makes a real appeal to the student's interest, if any real 
educational value is to be derived from it or if the student is 
expected to put his best efforts into its preparation when the 
stimulation of the teacher's activity is not at hand. Such an 
interest seems to demand for the assignment the final place 
in the class exercise. 

A modification rather than a violation of the above is the 
plan of assigning the next lesson piecemeal, by letting its 
various parts suggest themselves from the class discussion 
during the lesson development or classroom application. 
This practice is often wise, although it demands a final gath- 
ering together, organization, and restatement of the whole at 
the close of the hour, 

Definiteness. — ^A requirement closely related to what we 
have just said is that the assignment shall be definite. The 
class, when told to work upon a task by themselves, should 
know definitely what is expected of them. One of the most 
fertile causes of poor lesson preparation is indefinite lesson 
assignment. Moreover, the adult teacher, who has the task 
in mind before expressing it in words, will consider clear what 
is quite the opposite to the immature student, who has to 
read the teacher's meaning out of his words. A wise plan is, 
after the assignment has been made and opportunity afforded 
for questions, to ask for its repetition by some student or 
students, probably one most likely to misunderstand or neg- 
lect it. Definiteness, however, means more than clearness. 
A definite assignment is one that has a real purpose; one 
that obviously leads somewhither. Intelligent preparation 
is possible only when its aim is known to the student and 
determines his procedure. Otherwise interest as well as effi- 
ciency will be lost. 



204 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Motivation. — The motivation of the assignment should be 
internal rather than external. Its content and form should 
be such as to stimulate to its performance, instead of requiring 
external authority as its incentive. The formulation of an 
assignment in question form often assists in securing this 
stimulation, for a well-formulated question is for the student 
a standing challenge, and its service in the humanities is as 
real if not as extensive as in the sciences and mathematics. 
''What similarity do you see between the causes of the Ameri- 
can and of the French Revolution?" ''See if you can deter- 
mine the motive of Portia in demanding the ring from An- 
tonio." "Just what does virtus mean in EngHsh?" Prob- 
lems such as these are fully as stimulating as the calculation 
of the fall of an imaginary body in a given time, or the factor- 
ing of x^ — y'. Such intellectual stimulation in the assign- 
ment serves to carry over interest from topic to topic and 
from lesson to lesson, making it progressive and unifying the 
whole subject, instead of the atomization which daily assign- 
ment of new lessons tends to occasion. 

The class exercise does not constitute the educative proc- 
ess but merely initiates it. The student who has not in 
school received an incentive to self-education in later years 
is not educated. Similarly, a class exercise which does not 
incite to further thought and study without the compulsion 
of the teacher's presence has little educative value. 

Amount of Assignment. — The efficacy of the stimulant is 
in part determined by amount of dose. The motivation of 
the assignment depends much upon the degree of its difh- 
culty. It must not be such as to save the pupil the necessity 
for hard work, for meeting and mastering a puzzling situation. 
In fact, like all of the work required of the pupil, it should 
be all he can do; no more, no less. That is the kind of lesson 
he takes delight in mastering. The absence of the teacher 
and the consciousness of being thrown upon his own resources 
is an excellent stimulant for arousing the student's self- 
activity. Thus, the assignment should be so selected and 



THE EXPRESSION-APPLICATION MODE 205 

formulated as to develop initiative and self-reliance. The 
consciousness that one can and must accomplish a difficult 
task is a fine tonic for the development of intellectual and 
moral muscle. 

6. Summary 

Expression and application are the student^s extension of 
his experience to persons other than himself and to cases other 
than those from which the experience was derived. Such 
expression and application serve to complete and vitalize the 
experience, to test the efficacy of the instruction, to define 
and deepen the impression, and to develop skill. 

Expression and application occur in nearly every step of 
the instruction, in class exercise, laboratory, and study. 

The home study is merely an extension of the previous 
class exercise, not a memorizing for a coming recitation. 

Expression and application should be adequate, genuine, 
immediate, typical, intelligent, and general. 

The lesson assignment should grow out from the develop- 
ment, should normally come at the close of the lesson hour, 
and should derive its motivation from that of the lesson 
developed. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. How will it affect the pupil's attitude toward a subject if he 
lack opportunity or capacity for self-expression? 

2. How, if he lack opportunity for the application of what he 
learns ? 

3. Does teaching by lesson development add to the opportunity 
for self-expression (as compared with mere home learning of lessons) ? 

4. When a student has turned in the solution of an assigned prob- 
lem in mathematics or language, how can you make sure that he has 
really applied a principle, and not merely imitated a process ? 

5. When a pupil knows a thing adequately and clearly, can you 
believe his protest that he cannot express what he knows? What 
might obstruct expression in such a case? 

6. Can the expression of a sentiment be really genuine when it 
takes the form of reading what another has written? 



206 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

7. Why should not the application of a principle be deferred till 
the day following its development? 

8. "The application activity of the class exercise should be gen- 
eral." Why may not all profit equally if the appHcation by one pupil 
is carefully followed by the others? 

9. To what degree should the class have a share in determining 
the assignment of the lesson for home study ? Give reasons. 

10. What attention should the teacher give to pupils' protest that 
assignments are too long or too difficult? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

De Garmo, "Principles of Secondary Education, Processes of Instruc- 
tion," chap. VII. 

Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. XI. 

Betts, "The Recitation," chap. V. 

Carpenter, Baker, and Scott, "The Teaching of English in the Ele- 
mentary and the Secondary School," chap. VI. 

Wilkins, "Spanish in the High Schools," pp. 186-189. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE LABORATORY MODE 

I. Character and Function 

Scope. — We are largely indebted to the natural science 
study in schools for the recognition of the possibilities of the 
laboratory as an element in secondary instruction. Despite 
the abuses which have crept into the schools under its name, 
educators are more and more coming to see that the labora- 
tory procedure is appHcable to most if not all of the high 
school studies, and as its function is better understood, its 
employment becomes wider and more effectual. The term 
does not to-day necessarily suggest test tubes and electro- 
magnets, but its use is based upon a more fundamental char- 
acteristic. It now refers not to the form of apparatus but 
to the form of thinking and learning, and accordingly we find 
it employed in the biological sciences, in mathematics, in 
history, and in English, even though it occasionally bears a 
different name in certain fields, and hence often escapes 
recognition. 

Relation to Home Study. — The laboratory resembles the 
home study in that the student is to a considerable degree 
thrown upon his own resources. The formal procedure of the 
classroom, incidental to the simultaneous activity of a group 
under class direction, is replaced with the freedom of individ- 
ual activity. On the other hand, in place of the independence 
of the home study there is, in the high school at least, a con- 
siderable amount of supervision by the teacher or his assis- 
tants, necessitated by the environment and equipment for 
the work as well as by the element of investigation involved. 

Relation to Development. — Although like the development 
mode of instruction in dealing with situations and problems 

207 



208 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

at least partially new, the laboratory mode differs from the 
other in most or all of four essential features. In the j5rst 
place, it deals with problems whose data demand slower 
development. For the performance of many chemical or 
physical experiments, the observation of geological forma- 
tions, or the investigation of a historical period, the class 
hour is far too short. Secondly, the data of its problems are 
usually less accessible for study. The phenomena of stream 
erosion must be visited, or the reference books must be used 
in the library. Thirdly, its problems usually demand data 
which best lend themselves to individual rather than class 
investigation. Often a scientific specimen cannot be exam- 
ined by an entire class, but must be duplicated for each 
student for close observation or individual manipulation. 
Finally, the treatment of its problems involves no really new 
method of procedure requiring a showing-how, but is the 
concrete application of a comparatively familiar method. 

Relation to Application. — Compared with the applica- 
tion mode, the laboratory mode bears resemblance more in 
form than in educational character and function. It usually 
differs from the other in two respects. The first and most 
frequent difference is that the laboratory involves the ele- 
ment of discovery, the intellectual or sentimental interpre- 
tation of new truth, or the deriving of new experiences from 
things. Otherwise expressed, the application leads into, 
the laboratory starts from, the concrete. The former uses 
known principles in dealing with particular typical cases; the 
latter investigates concrete situations, and from them derives 
facts and experiences new to the student. Thus, in the 
laboratory the student studies particular plant forms, and 
derives general principles regarding the class typified by 
the specimens observed. In the appreciation laboratory 
his study of literary selections leads him to a new senti- 
mental experience. Even when employed for verification 
instead of discovery, the same distinction holds good, since 
verification is the completion, the culmination of discovery, 



THE LABORATORY MODE 209 

and is therefore ultimately for the sake of knowing certain 
general principles rather than their use in any particular 
case. The use of the laboratory for the purpose of verifi- 
cation is, however, questionable and will receive treatment in 
another paragraph. A second difference, which is solely one 
of degree, not of kind, lies in the greater tendency of the 
laboratory to concern itself with actual objects and of the 
classroom application to deal with the S3anbols for things. 
Applying in the classroom the law of falling bodies, the stu- 
dent calculates the rate of imaginary falls; in the laboratory 
the body actually falls and its rate is measured. This second 
difference, if such it deserves to be called, is not fundamental 
but merely incidental. On the one hand, much of the work 
with maps in physiography and with sources in history is 
truly laboratory work if employed as training in the discovery 
and interpretation of truth, even though its materials are 
themselves representative and artificial rather than original.^ 
On the other hand, classroom application should so far as 
possible be made to the real rather than the representative, 
and it is largely its shorter period which compels it often to 
substitute the symbol for the thing symbolized as a measure 
for the economy of time. 

Aims of Laboratory Instruction. — The laboratory mode has 
been found to coincide in function and character with neither 
development, classroom application, nor home study, and 
yet it overlaps and partially coincides with all three. Taking 
account of what has been said in the preceding paragraphs, 
we might indicate five specific aims of laboratory instruction, 
most of which at least are fundamental in every laboratory 
exercise. First, it is for the sake of knowledge, or in some 

1 If the source method in history is treated as a study of a historical 
event or period through the medium of the impressions and motives of its 
contemporaries, and for the sake either of a better understanding of the 
event or of training in interpretation, it may well be a laboratory proce- 
dure as here understood. The position here taken thus differs less in 
character than in name from that of Bourne, in his "Teaching of History," 
chap. XI. 



2IO PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

cases for the sake of appreciation. By it the student is 
brought to a more direct experience of situations. He comes 
not merely to know about things but to know the things 
themselves: he not merely learns to appreciate under gui- 
dance specially selected portions, but he encounters literary 
wholes as the author produced them. It may be primarily 
the extension of knowledge, the clarifying and impressing of 
knowledge, the broadening and deepening of appreciation; 
any or all of these. A second aim, no less real than the first 
and by some considered subordinate to it alone, is the appli- 
cation of methods of study and investigation to concrete 
situations of life. By it the student is led to know how. 
The third and often the chief aim of the intellectual labora- 
tory procedure is the training in observation and induction, 
in analysis and synthesis. Confronted with the concrete 
data and objects, he is called upon to perform much the same 
intellectual process as that of the lesson development, includ- 
ing interpretation of the situation, hypothetical solution, 
reasoning out of implications, and verification. Employing 
the method of study learned in the classroom, he is constantly 
called upon to observe purposively and independently the 
situation itself, and inductively to draw general conclusions 
from the data he has observed. Thus he acquires accuracy 
in the observation of quaHties and quantities, and indepen- 
dent judgment in the meeting of situations. A fourth aim, 
not always functioning in all forms of laboratory work, yet 
occasionally of prime importance as in domestic science and 
manual training, is that of technic and manual skill. The 
manipulation of apparatus, the drawing of specimens, and 
their preparation for study all lend a training of real educa- 
tional value. A fifth and final aim, that of verification of facts 
learned in class, is one to which considerable objection has been 
made. That verification is an essential in discovery is not 
questioned, but that it should be made the primary intel- 
lectual aim in the laboratory is believed to thwart the spirit 
of independent thought and scientific method. It virtually 



THE LABORATORY MODE 211 

consists in telling the student that a certain thing is true, and 
then, assuming his incredulity, it orders him to see for him- 
self. The truth is that students seldom think of challenging 
the statements of their teachers or text-books, and hence the 
verification, as such, is to them usually perfunctory and super- 
fluous. Doubtless the frequent employment of the laboratory 
for verification rather than discovery is due to the greater con- 
venience of its administration. It is far easier to familiarize 
the student with the facts in class, telling him by way of 
anticipation what to look for, than to lead him to the discov- 
ery of the truth for himself; to work from the classroom to 
the laboratory than from the laboratory to the classroom. 
In observational laboratory work, such as botany or zoology, 
involving many seemingly arbitrary data, minor points not 
readily observable by the student yet basal for the general 
inferences of the exercise may often with profit be supplied 
to him for verification. ^ The verification aim, however, is at 
best a very subordinate one, and must be treated only as 
incidental to the broader and more ultimate aims already 
mentioned. 

2. Types of Laboratory Work 

Classified on the basis of the control of the student over 
his material, and the consequent form of intellectual process, 
we find four t3^es of laboratory procedure — the experimen- 
tal, the observational, the appreciation, and the application 
laboratory — the fundamental difference between which is 
suggested by the names applied to them. 

Experimental. — The experimental type of the laboratory 
mode, the form which first found its way into the schools, is 
that in which the student, in quest of knowledge, controls his 
materials and processes rather than observes them as he 
finds them. Experimentation consists in forcing the phe- 
nomenon studied to occur under one's control. One by one, 
he varies the factors of the situation and watches for con- 
1 C/. Lloyd and Bigelow, "The Teaching of Biology," p. 308. 



212 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

sequent variations in the result. Unlike the observational 
laboratory, the experimental procedure when adequately con- 
ducted needs but a single observation of a given type of 
result, since its basis is the relation of cause and effect, not 
mere observation of facts whose cause is not adequately 
investigated. Having in a single fully understood instance 
determined the relation between pendulum length and vibra- 
tion rate, the principle of the uniformity of nature relieves 
the observer of further trial. Since the high school student 
is seeking the discovery of principles hitherto not unknown, 
although unknown to himself, he can in his control of the 
conditions of the experiment take advantage of the experience 
of others, so that his variations of the factors are the result 
of selection made by others. In Professor Dewey's words, 
he is playing with loaded dice, so constructed as to give posi- 
tive results, to ^^come out right." In the majority of cases, 
since qualitative control and observations are more simple 
and less exacting than quantitative, they should precede the 
latter, which should then serve as their interpretation and 
application. The too early and extensive use of quantitative 
experiments in physics is an illustration of a frequent viola- 
tion of this principle, due partly to the greater ease with 
which such exercises are devised and made definite to the 
younger student, partly to the failure of the college-trained 
teacher to differentiate between the purpose of physics study 
in the high school and that in the college.^ 

Observational. — The observational type of laboratory 
study is the more recent in its introduction in the schools, 
and partly on that account the less systematically developed 
and extended. Moreover, much which is really laboratory 
work in the study of the humanities is not given the name, 
perhaps due to a misconception as to the real meaning of the 
laboratory mode. Roughly classified, there are two varieties 

* Professor De Garmo gives an especially suggestive discussion of the 
nature of experiment in education in his "Principles of Secondary Educa- 
tion, Processes of Instruction," pp. 14 ff. 



THE LABORATORY MODE 213 

of observational laboratory study. The first is that in which 
the materials studied are already collected and incorporated 
as a part of the school equipment, in a suitable room or de- 
partment variously known as the laboratory, the museum, 
the library, etc. In the second variety, known usually as 
the field excursion, the material of study is such as to pre- 
vent its collection in the laboratory, either because trans- 
portation is impossible or because the environment in which 
the material occurs is a fundamental element in its study. 
The first variety is that usually employed in the study of the 
biological sciences, physiography, and the humanities. It 
includes the library work in such studies as history and much 
of that in the foreign languages and in English. The use 
of photographs, stereoscopic and stereopticon pictures, and 
museum specimens, when made the basis for serious study 
by the student, as well as of maps in history and physiogra- 
phy, provides many serviceable forms of this first variety of 
observational laboratory. The second variety, that of the 
field excursion, has a much narrower range, being usually 
employed in the biological sciences and physiography to sup- 
plement the work done in the classroom and school labora- 
tory. The study of civics, wherein the students make first- 
hand observations of civic procedure and conditions, offers a 
splendid field for the field excursion. The Germans, in their 
study of history, have something similar to it in the Schul- 
reise or school excursion to some place of historic interest, a 
plan which in a less degree might well be attempted in America. 
In the observational laboratory the activity in which the 
observation culminates is usually description, though with 
inference as an occasional secondary or even primary activity. 
The description may be in the form of language, of drawing, 
or of both. When directed to report what he has seen, the 
student becomes a more careful, accurate, and adequate ob- 
server, and that which is observed is more deeply impressed; 
whether that report be in the form of words or of a drawing 
naturally depends upon the subject matter. A laboratory 



214 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

exercise in literary interpretation or comparison, in history, 
or in fact in nearly all humanistic studies, naturally involves 
a report in language. In botany, zoology, physiography, and 
physiology, extensive use is made of drawings to induce and 
direct the observation, as well as to report upon it, and draw- 
ings which serve only as unthinking reports are practically 
valueless, except for the development of technic, an aim 
for which such studies are not primarily intended. For the 
study of relations and general features, diagrammatic draw- 
ings are the more serviceable; for the observation of details, 
descriptive drawings are of more value. ^ 

Inference, as the second element in the observational 
laboratory mode, is not always present. It enters when an 
aim of the exercise is the discovery of general principles, e. g., 
in finding the general characteristics of different varieties of 
a species in botany, the general character of the poetical 
writings of a period of Hterature, or the dominant motive in 
a series of popular movements in a historical period. The 
value of training in independent inference in such cases is 
great, and opportunities for its development are more fre- 
quent than is often realized. 

Comparing the two varieties of observational laboratory as 
to educational value, it would seem that in the first the ma- 
terials are easier to study, better selected, and usually easier 
to describe, whereas in the second or field excursion they ap- 
peal to the student as pecuUarly real, rather than symbolic 
and artificial, and a better training is provided in the obser- 
vation of things as they occur in the environments of nature. 

Appreciation. — The third tj'pe of laboratory, that for the 
sake of appreciation, is one which is seldom employed, and 
even then is usually called by another name. The word 
"laboratory" is for the English teacher so suggestive of brass 
instruments and mechanical manipulation that it seems to 
him incongruous when dealing with the finer sentiments of 
literary study. The incongruity is seeming rather than real, 

^C/.p. 115. 



THE LABORATORY MODE 215 

however, when the terms are rightly interpreted. There is 
no good reason why laboratory exercises in appreciation should 
not be made use of, and some attempts in that direction have 
already been made. The appreciation of Hterature is some- 
what allied to the observational laboratory in that the stu- 
dent deals with his materials as he finds them. On the other 
hand, the student is active in the creation of situations, and 
the appreciation enters in the expression and realization of 
his own ideas and sentiments. The essential element in the 
appreciation laboratory, however, is the sentiment involved, 
together with its expression, rather than in knowledge and 
inference, as in the two other types. Naturally it is subject 
to the same general principles and requirements as the appre- 
ciation mode of class instruction, and differs from the latter 
only as all laboratory procedure differs from that of the 
classroom. 

Application. — In the laboratory procedure the student 
comes not merely to know about things but to know things. 
Thus, its aims include the clarifying and impressing of knowl- 
edge, bringing the process or method to bear upon the concrete 
object. A further aim is the acquisition of technic and manual 
skill. Our fourth type of laboratory, which we shall call the 
appKcation laboratory, is that in which these are the domi- 
nant aims. Thus, in intellectual character it is essentially an 
appHcation procedure in laboratory form, and in common 
practice forms the application part of the class exercise. In 
terms of our classification of modes it is, as its name implies, 
a imion of two modes,^ and as such is subject to the practical 
requirements of both. Domestic science and manual train- 
ing are the two conspicuous examples of studies employing 
the application laboratory. Naturally either of these will 
often provide occasion for experimentation, but the experi- 
mental feature is rarely the dominant one, and the typical 
lesson in them casts the application step into laboratory 
form, largely because of the character of materials involved. 

1 A circumstance less distressing to the teacher than to the logician. 



2l6 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

3. Essentials of Laboratory Instruction 

Probably nowhere else in the secondary school work do 
the details of procedure vary as widely with the subject mat- 
ter as is the case in the laboratory mode. We will accordingly 
limit ourselves to a statement of the general principles gov- 
erning laboratory procedure, and a few suggestions of their 
implications, based largely upon the form of thought and 
training involved. Our discussion will deal with three phases 
of laboratory procedure: the assignment of the problem or 
exercise, the teacher's function in the laboratory, and the 
treatment of results. 

I. Problem Assignment. — In the assignment of the prob- 
lem recognition should be made of the fact that only a prob- 
lem which is a real one to the student, one which appeals to 
him as worth while, has any place in the laboratory instruc- 
tion. Work which is meaningless and perfunctory destroys 
the chief element of the problem, the desire to find out some- 
thing. Often a reconstruction or restatement of a problem 
in terms of the student's own experience will serve that pur- 
pose, by showing him that it has a practical bearing instead 
of a merely academic interest. In the secondary school this 
will usually require that the problem of the laboratory be 
one which originates in the work of the classroom, which has 
brought him to this problem as its logical result. The unfor- 
tunate plan, so common in physics, of assigning to students 
in the laboratory topics wholly unrelated to the work then 
being done in the classroom is clearly a violation of this prin- 
ciple. The excuse that the apparatus is too expensive to 
supply all of the pupils for simultaneous work upon the 
problems is really no justification, for what cannot be done 
properly might better be omitted. In fact, an experiment 
performed in the classroom by two or three students, and 
carefully, intelligently watched by the others who are held 
as responsible for results, as though they themselves were 
manipulating the apparatus, is truly laboratory work, and is 



THE LABORATORY MODE 217 

far superior educationally to individually performed experi- 
ments from wliich the purpose is lacking. With a proper 
degree of student participation, much that is commonly called 
demonstration may serve as laboratory procedure, and, to 
repeat a thought elsewhere expressed, participation is a mat- 
ter of mind rather than of manipulation.^ 

A further requirement of the laboratory assignment is 
definiteness. The aim of the problem as well as the proce- 
dure in its solution should be clear and significant in the 
student's mind at the outset, for a lack of such aim induces 
mere play rather than work. This does not mean that he 
should be told in advance the results of his experiment or 
observation, for so doing destroys its character as laboratory 
work. Rather it means simply that he shall not be permitted 
to plunge aimlessly or carelessly into an investigation, but 
shall proceed with a distinct purpose to permeate and de- 
termine his procedure, and with laboratory instructions so 
clearly formulated that following them he cannot fail to secure 
the desired results. Account should be taken of just what 
he may fairly be supposed to know, so that he will have 
enough instructions for successful work, yet not enough to 
relieve him of the necessity for thinking, judging, and adapt- 
ing for himself. Too specific directions reduce the laboratory 
exercise to mechanism. Merely the general requirements 
should be specified where the student is qualified, by due 
reflection, to choose and adapt his own details of procedure. 

2. Function of Teacher. — The function of the teacher in 
the laboratory mode is threefold. In the first place, he is to 
provoke thought, rather than to supply it. By refraining 
from discussion of the problem, but merely giving hints and 
stimulation when needed for the student's intelligent proce- 
dure, he avoids the error suggested at the close of the last 
paragraph. The development of initiative and self-reHance 
for which the laboratory mode is peculiarly adapted may 

1 Cf. Bigelow, "Teacher's Manual of Biology," pp. 7-8; Welton, "Prin- 
ciples and Methods of Teaching," p. 93. 



2l8 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

easily be destroyed by the teacher who tells too much. Far 
better than answering questions is asking them, and the skil- 
ful use of the question by the teacher in the laboratory will 
accomplish much by leading the student to a better evalua- 
tion of the facts he observes, for many a laboratory exercise 
is practically wasted because the inexperienced and unthink- 
ing pupil does not know which of his observations are funda- 
mental and significant, which are incidental or valueless. 

A second function of the teacher in the laboratory is to 
prevent waste of time and material. Due sometimes to 
thoughtlessness, sometimes to inexperience, the student may 
undertake a wrong procedure which would occasion the loss 
of valuable time as well as of material. Here, as elsewhere, 
"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," More- 
over, high school students are immature and often thought- 
less, and the greater freedom of the laboratory is likely to 
lead to a lack of concentration in work or even a spirit of 
play which will thwart thoughtful observation, and which 
the mere presence of a responsible teacher will usually pre- 
vent. It might be well to observe here that a little fore- 
thought on the teacher's part in the preparation and distribu- 
tion of material before the class enters the laboratory will 
often work wonders in the prevention of disorder and delay 
in getting under way in the first few minutes of the exercise. 

Thirdly, the teacher when supervising the laboratory 
study is in a position to direct the student to the sources 
upon which he is to draw. In the science laboratory it may 
be the stores of supplies or even the text-books, in the field 
excursion it is the plant or animal life or the physiographic 
formations, in the library it will be books of reference. 

The work of the instructor in the laboratory is thus exact- 
ing, and the requirements of his qualifications many. The 
character of the work usually done demands assistants who 
should be able and intelligent lieutenants and should know 
not merely the subject matter and the technic of laboratory 
procedure, but the student's pedagogical need as well. This 



THE LABORATORY MODE 219 

refers in a peculiar way to the school librarian, who should be 
broadly educated, ready to co-operate with instructors, and 
able to interpret and wisely meet the needs of the high school 
student. 

3. Results.— The use made of the results in the laboratory 
is as important as the securing of the results. The notion 
that a laboratory exercise is practically completed when the 
experiment is performed, the drawing made, or the class re- 
turned from the field trip is a common but unfortunate one. 
Rather it is but the beginning, the preparatory step, as a 
moment's reflection will show. Three requirements of the 
use of laboratory results suggest themselves. 

First, they should be definitely thought through and their 
meaning sought. The facts merely as such are of no value; 
their value appears only when they serve to answer the ques- 
tion for which the exercise was originally designed. Not in- 
frequently the deferring of the writing up of results until 
after the close of the exercise leads to their being better 
evaluated and more intelligently described. 

Secondly, they should be adequately described, usually in 
writing, although a short quiz at the end of the laboratory 
exercise will often serve to bring to consciousness points 
otherwise overlooked and which before the following class 
exercise would have passed beyond recall. Adequate de- 
scription will usually involve a statement of the problem to 
be solved, a description of the procedure and its results, and 
an interpretation of the significance of the results for the 
original problem of the exercise. Such a description, com- 
mon in scientific study, might prove adaptable to laboratory 
work in the humanities as well. As a form of expression, it 
would tend to increase the clearness of the pupil's thought 
and deepen the impression made, thus rendering the results 
of the exercise more permanent. A well-organized form of 
the written description in the laboratory manual, if not car- 
ried to the degree of pedantry, will add much to completeness 
and systematic arrangement of both thought and description. 



220 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

A third requirement is that the results of the laboratory 
shall be closely correlated with the work of the classroom. 
The recitation and development in subsequent class exercises 
should take account of what the student has learned in the 
laboratory, using the results as the basis of his further study. 
This practice adds greatly to his feeHng of the value of those 
results, and in fact is indispensable for the continuity of the 
course as a whole. Occasionally the class might well make a 
thorough study of their laboratory results as recorded in 
their note-books, thus affording opportunity for recalling, in- 
terpreting, correcting, and organizing the entire laboratory 
work of the course. 

4. Summary 

The laboratory mode has a fivefold aim: (i) knowledge 
and often appreciation, (ii) application of methods of study, 
(iii) training in observation and induction, (iv) technic and 
manual skill, (v) verification (in rare cases). 

The four types of laboratory procedure are (i) experi- 
mental, in which the phenomena studied are under the stu- 
dent's control, (ii) observational, including the study of mate- 
rials collected in laboratory, museum, or library, and that of 
data best accessible through the field excursion, (iii) apprecia- 
tion, which aims at sentiment as the first two aim at knowl- 
edge, (iv) application, which aims at skill in the application 
of knowledge, with the acquisition aim subordinate. 

In the laboratory procedure the problem must be a real 
one for the student, and definitely formulated. The function 
of the teacher in the laboratory is to provoke thought, to pre- 
vent waste of time and materials, and to direct the student 
to the sources. The results secured by the student in the 
laboratory should be definitely thought through, and inter- 
preted by him, they should be adequately described, and 
they should be constantly correlated with the work of the 
classroom. 



THE LABORATORY MODE 221 



QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. In many college courses of instruction the entire work consists 
of laboratory procedure, without classroom exercises. Discuss the 
feasibility of such a plan in the high school. 

2. It is said that in the experimental laboratory the student "is 
playing with loaded dice, so constructed as to give positive results." 
Does not this circumstance destroy the value of such study as a train- 
ing in methods of scientific study ? 

3. Is the knowledge aim in the manual training and domestic 
science laboratory more fundamental in senior high school than in 
junior high school work? Why? In domestic science, might the 
laboratory be of the experimental type? Justify your answer. 

4. Can the appreciation laboratory work serve at the same time 
as lesson study ? If so, should it not be supplemented by independent 
study ? 

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of a previous class 
exercise discussion of the coming laboratory exercice? What should 
characterize such a discussion, if provided? 

6. Point out how the untrained laboratory assistant might violate 
all three functions of the teacher in the laboratory mode. 

7. In case the student's report upon a laboratory exercise is very 
inadequate, under what circumstances should a repetition of the exer- 
cise be required? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Parker, *' Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. XIX. 
Twiss, "A Textbook in the Principles of Science Teaching," chap. 

VIII. 
Goddard, "Laboratory Teaching," in School Science mid Mathematics^ 

November, 191 6. 
Luke, "The Springfield Laboratory-Recitation Method of Teaching 

Latin," in School and Home Education, December, 1916. 
Moon, "Laboratory Methods of Teaching Contemporary History at 

Columbia University," in History Teacher's Magazine, March, 

1917. 
The Wilson Bulletin, especially the following articles: Mendenhall, 

"The School Library as a Laboratory," in the Wilson Bulletin 

for June, 191 7. Warren, "Opportunities for Study in the High 

School Library," in the Wilson Bulletin for October, 1916, 



CHAPTER XII 

STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 

I. Significance of Study 

Student Self-Control and Self -Direction. — In the classroom 
instruction the responsibility for initiative and direction nec- 
essarily rests mainly with the teacher. We saw in our study 
of the laboratory mode that one essential feature of that 
mode is its placing of a greater degree of responsibility upon 
the student. In outside study student responsibility reaches 
the most extreme form which school work affords. 

The chief function of the school is to establish a gradual 
transfer of authority and guidance from without to within 
the child. The two fundamental activities of the school are 
its moral training under the form of discipline and its intellec- 
tual training under the form of instruction. In these the 
movement is parallel; the establishment of self-control and 
of seK-direction respectively. Without the attainment of 
these two, the benefits of the school's training extend no 
farther than its walls. Perhaps nowhere do these two attain- 
ments assume so definite a form as in study, and nothing so 
surely characterizes the educated man as their manifestation 
in capacity and disposition for study. The school, therefore, 
which does not succeed in training its students to study fails 
to just that degree to produce results which persist after its 
activities cease. It has but written on the sand. 

Justification of Home Study. — In an earlier chapter ^ 
the question was raised regarding the wisdom of abolishing 
outside study, and letting the class exercise include all neces- 
sary preparation for the next day's work. The question nat- 
urally recurs here, and the thought of the foregoing paragraph 

» Cf. p. 195. 

222 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 223 

plays a large part in the answer. The youth will not always 
have schools in which to study nor teachers to instruct him. 
His education must lead to self-reliance and initiative in his 
post-scholastic study. In the primary grades self-control and 
self -direction are not possible or expected. In the high school 
a considerable degree of them is possible and to be expected. 
If now the work of lesson preparation be made wholly a 
classroom affair, under the constant guidance and stimulation 
of the teacher, it may well be questioned if we are not letting 
escape the best opportunity of school life for the development 
of self-reliance and self-control. Somewhere, at some time, 
the child must let go the teacher's hand and walk alone. If 
the transition from supervision to independence in study is 
to be made, as it ultimately must be made, the school Hfe 
would seem to be the most natural, easy, and safe time for 
such transition. 

2. Teaching to Study 

With lesson assigned and class dismissed, the teacher too 
often imagines his task completed, his duty done. On the 
contrary, the very nature of the lesson assignment implies an 
activity in which the student is his own instructor and task- 
master, a condition to which only adult development can 
attain or even approximate. As teachers we assume that 
our students should be able to study properly and are blind 
to the fact that they do not and cannot. Only very recently 
have we realized that we must teach our students to study, 
and that at least a part of that study can best be done under 
supervision. 

Self -Teaching. — Studying is really nothing more nor less 
than self-teaching. What the teacher has done for him in the 
class exercise, the student must in his study do for himself. 
For just this reason the best preparation for out-of-class 
study is classroom learning, and the best way to teach pupils 
to study at home is to teach the lessons well in class. The 
principles of study are really the same, whether applied to 



224 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

classroom or home work. The causes of pupils' inability to 
study out of class are usually two: either poor methods of 
class teaching or a failure to cause students to be conscious 
of good methods as methods. Surely the teacher who cannot 
teach well will not expect his pupils to teach themselves 
well. And on the other hand, unless pupils see not only what 
is done but how it is done, they will not be able to employ 
the methods in their own work. 

Importance of Teaching to Study. — Every normal child, 
whatever his motive for study, would rather succeed than 
fail in his efforts. Indeed, many pupils' dislike for study is 
due not to dislike for work or for subject matter, but to 
inabihty to accompHsh what they undertake. And who can 
blame them? High school students are potentially better 
psychologists than we commonly suppose. With a little 
practical guidance they will effectually and profitably co- 
operate in a study of the best methods of learning their les- 
sons. How to commit material to memory, how to attack a 
problem, how to hit upon the central thought of a lesson or a 
passage, how to see the significance of the paragraphing of the 
text, to use the table of contents, or to run down references, 
all of these are for them real, intelligent problems upon which 
practical suggestions from the teacher will be eagerly wel- 
comed. 

Lesson development is neither doing the pupil's work for 
him nor expecting him to grope in the dark in the face of new 
situations. Doing his work for him will never produce power 
for independent work; and doing things without consciousness 
of method or meaning will not lead to power to do them again 
or to do other things. Development is the inducing and 
directing of student activity in meeting situations, and as 
such provides the ideal basis for teaching him to study: to 
re-attack the same problem and to attack parallel and related 
problems on his own initiative. When in the class exercise 
the student is given just enough assistance with an activity, 
so that he himself does it and does it intelligently, and, fur- 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 225 

ther, when his attention is specifically directed to the process 
as a basis for his own further activity, we may truly say that 
he has been taught to study. All five modes of instruction, 
therefore, and especially the problematic, appreciation, and 
expression-appHcation procedures, naturally form the basis 
for teaching to study. 

The Study Attitude. — The first essential in study, and one 
of the most vital, is the attitude toward it. This is largely 
dependent upon the assignment, which must be something 
of real value to the student. He must evaluate the result to 
be accompHshed by the task as a thing which will meet a 
need, immediate or remote, in his further work. This neces- 
sarily arises from a knowledge of the problem to be solved, 
and he must be taught to begin by getting his bearings. The 
student must know the purpose of his studying. It is not 
enough that he do his work because it is assigned, but he must 
understand what it is to accomplish in order that he may 
adapt means to end and may know when the end is attained. 
Thus each assignment must be made primarily in terms of 
product rather than of process. It should not be a matter 
of ''do this" but of "accomphsh this." As teachers we must 
take our pupils into partnership with us, realizing the fact 
that the high school student is far more capable of an intelli- 
gent appreciation of ends and means than we usually credit 
him with being. Could we but overhear him at his study, 
we might often hear the complaint: ''I suppose this is all of 
some use, but I wish I knew of what use." While it is, of 
course, true that much of the work has a largely propaedeutic 
value which is but dimly recognized by the student, never- 
theless a Httle special effort will give even this purpose a 
genuine appeal to him. When he feels that the teacher is 
appeaHng to his co-operation, and credits him with an intelli- 
gent attitude toward his work, the co-operation will usually 
be rendered and the attitude will develop until he feels that 
the assignment is his own self-imposed work rather than 
merely a task imposed by the teacher. 



226 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

As one of the first steps in the preparation of the lesson, 
therefore, the pupil should be trained to seek its purpose; to 
ask himself just what it is intended to accomplish. What is 
needed more in our high schools is not a blind obedience to 
commands, but the attitude that challenges for the meaning 
of things. The world is already well suppHed with unthink- 
ing followers; the secondary school is to develop leaders who 
are trained to investigate purposes before initiating actions. 

Problems with plenty of action and with tangible results 
are particularly favorable for inducing this attitude. For 
example, the preparation of a careful comparison-contrast 
between the writings of two literary men or between the 
chemical qualities of two elements will induce far greater in- 
terest than an assignment of a disconnected study of each. 
Problems in which the student can see through to the con- 
crete application of his thinking will induce a better attitude 
toward that thinking. 

Things one likes to do are always better done. We must, 
therefore, give to assigned tasks as bright an aspect as we 
can, and must let the pupil see that a corresponding attitude 
on his part will lighten and brighten the performance. He 
must give his efforts not grudgingly nor of necessity, but 
cheerfully. Pretending that he enjoys it will tend to induce 
enjojment, so let him seek to work as if he did enjoy it. He 
should be taught to do more than the minimum requirement, 
for in the gratuitous extra work, such as ''reading out" from 
the topic, working extra exercises, and devising supplemen- 
tary applications, the extra power and knowledge gained will 
result in enlarged interest. The teacher's personal attitude 
toward those who do more than the minimum will tend to 
increase their number. 

Orientation and Organization. — Much of the difficulty of 
students in getting their bearings is due to the teacher's mis- 
taken conception of the function of the assignment. When 
the student's task involves a plunge into unknown waters, it 
is little wonder that he flounders about; the wonder is, rather, 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 227 

that he gets on as well as he does. With a definite assign- 
ment growing out from the lesson development, the student 
will have his bearings fairly well at the outset of his subse- 
quent study. The problems arising, the intellectual needs to 
be met, will be his own, as well as the essentials for their 
solution. 

If the assignment include a review of the preceding lesson, 
the orientation of the new work will be better insured. Get- 
ting one's bearings is largely a matter of perspective, and 
students do not know how to evaluate and organize. Ex- 
perience has shown that even the high school pupil's study 
consists largely in indiscriminate memorizing of everything 
assigned or mechanical performance of the set exercises. 
Usually he knows quite well that not all things are of equal 
importance. His difficulty is that he does not realize which 
are the important, which the subordinate. 

A useful device for the securing of organization is the 
preparation of an outline of the lesson. Often this begins 
with development of the power to read rapidly. Many stu- 
dents have never advanced beyond the stage of slow word-by- 
word reading, in which too often the trend of the thought is 
lost sight of in attention to details. Not infrequently this 
results from misdirected conscientiousness, more often from 
bad habits and lack of training. To train to read rapidly is 
in many cases the first step in training to organize. 

Before the student can organize the lesson in the form of 
an outline, it is necessary to train him to evaluate and to see 
things in their perspective. As in the class exercise, so in his 
study he should be taught to attack any undertaking with the 
questions: *'What is the thing which I am setting out to do? 
What is the central idea or principle or problem before me? 
What are the essential, what the subordinate points in deal- 
ing with it?" Outlining involves evaluation, and specific 
attention should be given in the classroom to the training of 
judgment, upon which all evaluation is based. In the class- 
room instruction the student should constantly be led to dis- 



228 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

tinguish fundamentals from subordinates. Thus, he will be 
able to determine what parts to memorize, what to study 
intensively, what to pass over rapidly. Much of this train- 
ing may form a part of a class exercise; some of it must be 
given individually, in supervised study or in personal con- 
ference. 

Information-Getting. — The solution of a finding-out prob- 
lem is a matter of getting information, and for information- 
getting the same principles hold in study as in classroom in- 
struction. Of the three sources of information, observation 
is evidently better for the student's development than being 
told or even than reading in books. We should therefore 
urge upon him the advantages of looking first to his own 
experience and observation for the information sought. 
Often he has the information but does not realize it, because 
he has not fully interpreted the significance of what he sees 
or knows. Thus, he must be taught to first analyze his own 
store of information for anything that might bear on the 
problem. 

At the same time we must warn him against the danger 
of taking his observation for more than it is worth. Books 
represent the experience and observation of others, presum- 
ably better observers than he, and he will do well to verify 
his observations by reference to these. He must also be 
taught to make use of books as sources of information. One 
of the greatest hindrances to intellectual progress on the part 
of students is their inability to make use of books. Often 
schools are inadequately equipped with books, but far more 
often use is not made of the books at hand. Far better to 
sacrifice somewhat in the selection of topics studied than to 
neglect training in the use of books because the ones pre- 
ferred are not available. 

Children should know what books to use. Every teacher 
may with profit spend a little time occasionally in discussing 
with his class the available literature dealing with the topic 
under consideration, pointing out what are good books, the 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 229 

characteristics of each, and where in them to find what is 
wanted. The use of index, of table of contents, of chapter 
and paragraph titles, and of bibliographies can be easily 
explained, but for lack of explanation these are often neg- 
lected by school children. 

The last resort in information-getting is the asking of 
other people. Who has not seen school children who mis- 
took it for the first and only mode of finding out what they 
did not know? But although a last resort, it is an important 
one. Occasionally it may be used as a matter of economy 
of time, when the benefit derived from a laborious search in 
books would be more than offset by its cost in time and 
effort. More frequently, however, telling, especially by the 
teacher, finds its place when the manner of the telling is fun- 
damental. Books may tell too much or too little; may do 
the pupil's thinking for him, or demand more thinking than 
he can do unaided. Following the general principle that the 
teacher is to do for the child only what he cannot as profit- 
ably do for himself, the teacher's assistance must take the 
form rather of stimulating, with occasional telling as needed. 
The telling must merely bridge the gaps in the child's capacity 
and experience. Often it may well be a telKng of where or 
how to find out, rather than of giving the information sought. 
Books the student will or should have with him in life; the 
teacher is his but for a season. 

Finally, reading and telling as sources of information 
should be followed by at least partial verification in observa- 
tion and experience. Credulity results from a habit of ac- 
cepting ideas unchallenged. We must teach students, after 
reading or hearing a thing, to check it up with already pos- 
sessed experience and reason, and see that it is in harmony. 
If not, find out why not, nor stop till harmony in thought is 
established. This checking-up training will at the same time 
prove to be an excellent training in original discovery. 

Memorizing. — Acquisitions, whether of facts or of proc- 
esses, must be conserved. Study must secure the retention 



230 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

of both, and must take account of the laws of memory-fonn- 
ing and habit-forming. In a concrete form at least, these 
laws are intelligible to the high school pupil, and he should 
be shown their application to his study. 

Habit-forming requires in the first place a strong motiva- 
tion, which in turn is possible only on the basis of conscious- 
ness of aim and understanding of procedure. Unintelligent 
drill lacks the vigor which should mark the initiation of 
habit. The student must therefore make sure that he knows 
just what he is doing and why he is doing as he is if he would 
give the process he is acquiring a strong initiative. It must 
have the zest of achievement, the consciousness of doing 
something. Secondly, as every schoolboy knows, repetition 
fixates habit. Here, too, each act must be permeated with 
the consciousness of the thing to be done and of the process 
as a doing of that thing. 

In memory-forming the first rule for the student to ob- 
serve is that the content must be deeply impressed. Recall- 
ing the suggestions of our earlier discussion, the student may 
profitably write out what he has read, thus establishing a 
motor image as well as a visual one. Note taking and note 
bookkeeping, especially if use be made of the notes in the 
study, serve the same purpose. Intelligent marking of books, 
making the significant points conspicuous, is an art which 
the student may profitably be shown and which will add 
much to visual impression. Reading aloud or listening while 
another reads will likewise reinforce with an auditory image. 
It might be well for the teacher to discover whether the child 
is not employing in study only the type of imagery in which 
he is strongest, and to suggest to him how the use of the 
others would help to reinforce the impressions made. He 
should also be trained to attain clarity of ideas before he seeks 
their fixation. Hazy ideas, like dull tools, make but shallow 
impressions, which soon disappear, and the student must form 
the habit of persisting until he knows exactly what he seeks 
to memorize. Usually it adds to the depth of impression to 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING i^3I 

allow it a short time in wliich to "set" before advancing to a 
new one. Impressions following too closely upon one another 
become confused, and tend to obliterate each other. Reviv- 
ing an impression shortly after encountering it tends to 
deepen it; hence, a rapid review, either by reading or recall 
of a paragraph just read, will pay better than a review later 
on, though both are profitable. 

In general, drill whether upon processes or upon facts 
should be frequent rather than consecutive, and the student 
should be taught to so plan his study as to break up the drill 
into occasional but brief periods. Secondly, he should know 
when to stop. This should be only when the drill has lasted 
long enough for a lasting, not a temporary, retention. Only 
when he finds that he can recall it without having revived it 
immediately before should he consider it learned. A rapid 
review of a lesson of whatever kind immediately before the 
recitation upon it is of great profit, provided the lesson prep- 
aration was itself thorough. In the third place, students 
should be taught upon what to drill. They should be shown 
that drill is applicable to processes and rote memory, but little 
if at all to logical memory. The one seeming exception would 
be in the case of formal rules or formulas of which the use 
must be too immediate and frequent to permit a rethinking 
of the steps by which the rule or formula was derived. In 
such cases, however, care must be taken that the formula of 
words merely supplements the thought and does not sup- 
plant it. 

Equally important with the impression of an idea is its 
association. The farmer driving to town hitches his horse 
to a post, not to a car on the siding. He knows that when 
he seeks the horse he will find him, because he knows he can 
find the post. Similarly, the student should be trained to 
associate the idea he is learning with other and familiar ideas. 
Associations are based upon relationships. One of the first 
things for him to do, therefore, is to search out the relation- 
ships between the new idea and as many as possible familiar 



232 PRINCIPLES or TEACHING 

ones. Thus, when he wishes to recall the new one, he can 
trace it back from any of the known ones to which it is joined. 
Evidently the more of such relationships are established, the 
more easily he can hit upon an idea that will lead him to his 
goal. And evidently the stronger the relationship, the more 
lasting and dependable the association. Mnemonic devices 
are almost always based on an artificial relationship, not a 
real one, and for that reason are often more of an obstacle 
than an assistance in recall. 

Thinking-Out of Problems. — Not a Httle of what has been 
said on teaching the student to deal with finding-out problems 
is more or less applicable to the thinking-out problem as well. 
In the latter, as truly as in the former, the problem must be 
clear in the student's mind. He must know whether he seeks 
a generahzation or a concrete application or both in one 
problem. Otherwise he will in the former case be prone to 
stop short with information about the illustrations rather 
than go on to the generahzation. In the latter case, the 
relation between principle and application will not be ade- 
quately established. A clearly formulated statement of his 
problem, ^'the thing I propose to find or do is so-and-so," 
will tend to induce clarity of problem. Moreover, when the 
student has adequately recognized his problem and caught 
its significance, the second requirement, that the problem be 
a real one for him, will in large measure have been met. 

The student does not need to be taught to form a tenta- 
tive solution to a real problem, but he does need to be taught 
to form a good one. It is so much easier to guess than to 
think, and young people, lacking the sense of responsibility 
and the restraint of the instructor's presence, are prone to 
guess. They must be shown that mere guessing is not solv- 
ing, but that results come only from sound hypotheses. Thus 
the formulation of hypothesis and the reasoning out of its 
implications are inseparable. The student must feel the im- 
portance of sound thinking, of challenging his conclusions, 
and of making sure that the solution looks rational, in so far 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 233 

as lie can discover. This challenge attitude must then culmi- 
nate in certainty, with less than which he should not be con- 
tent. An unverified hypothesis should produce a feeHng of 
uneasiness; it should be an unbalanced force which will act 
until stabiHty is attained. He must know before he is sat- 
isfied. 

This demand for certainty is largely an attitude of mind, 
which can best be taught in the classroom by always insisting 
upon certainty in work and leading students to challenge and 
criticise their own and others' work. In these ways they 
come to associate certainty with solutions. However, they 
do not always know how to make certain. Much of implica- 
tion and of verification demands a broader experience than 
the student possesses. He does not think of even familiar 
things and ideas as related to his problem. Much of this 
experience must be brought to bear by the teacher, especially 
in the assignment. One of the functions of the assignment 
is to suggest problematic situations and relationships, so that 
the pupil in his study will have his attention directed to 
them. The good assignment is the one that gives just the 
needed direction here, but at the same time shows the pupil 
how to look for implications and verification on his own 
account. It makes study effectual and thereby trains to 
study. 

Appreciation. — Since appreciation-teaching consists in se- 
curing conditions under which the appreciation can occur, 
teaching how to study appreciation material is merely the 
teaching of how to create corresponding conditions in study. 
As the teacher in the classroom assists the student in the 
securing of those conditions, he must help him to create those 
conditions when by himself. 

The first condition, an understanding of medium of ex- 
pression and of thought, is one without which study avails 
little. We therefore must make the assignment such that 
the student will early familiarize himself with the medium 
of expression. This involves the development of an unwill- 



234 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ingncss to let an unfamiliar word or phrase go unchallenged. 
In a way, this is but a phase of the general attitude already 
discussed, of intellectual unrest in the face of that which 
is not understood. The same holds of the study of the 
thought as well as of the language. It is often well to devise 
as a part of the assignment some exercise which demands an 
understanding of the content. Often this is best attained 
by bringing out the problematic element in the content, so 
that the solution demands a knowledge of language and 
thought. 

Appreciation demands vividness of imagery. Pupils 
should be encouraged to picture to themselves the thing 
described. We must show them that the study is not merely 
reading but seeing, and suggest that often in their reading 
they occasionally pause while with eyes closed (at least men- 
tally) they image to themselves the thing described. Visual 
and auditory imagery are especially easy to cultivate, and are 
essential to most Hterary appreciation. Occasionally the 
assignment may well include a search for appropriate pictures 
to illustrate passages, and add to the vividness. 

But the student even more than the teacher is in danger 
of mistaking this sort of study for appreciation, whereas it is 
but the securing of conditions favoring appreciation. Ms- 
thetic or ethical appreciation is based on a reaUzation that 
the thing is beautiful or good, and such realization must be 
secured. Appreciation is taught in the classroom by lead- 
ing the pupil to pass judgment on the beauty or goodness of 
a thing. In the same way, appreciation study must involve 
the forming of such judgments, and can best be secured by 
an assignment calling for these judgments. While the stu- 
dent may not always tell what he means by beauty or good- 
ness, he can profitably search out and indicate those passages 
or features which he likes, and tell somewhat of why he likes 
them. The efforts will be crude at the first, but practice, 
properly encouraged and directed in the class exercise, will 
lead to improvement. 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 235 

Application in Study. — Possibly the reader will at this 
point halt us with an objection. He may tell us that in an 
earlier chapter we referred to the home study as essentially 
appHcation, whereas in the present chapter it seems to in- 
volve nearly all phases of learning and feeling. The discrep- 
ancy is but seeming, however, as an examination of the rela- 
tion of application to learning and feeling will show. When 
a student, having learned a process or fact, employs that 
process or fact in dealing with various cases similar to that 
whence the learning was derived, he is applying what he has 
learned. This application may assume various forms, such 
as working examples, writing essays, translating, etc. In 
each case, however, the application usually consists of solv- 
ing problems or appreciating writings by employing the 
method learned in the class exercise. Thus, the home study, 
while an application of what has been learned, is at the same 
time the meeting of other, though similar, situations, and as 
such calls for essentially the same procedure, whether prob- 
lematic or appreciation. Thus an activity may at the same 
time be the solution of the problem and the application of a 
method of solution, in that the pupil solves by the method 
learned.^ 

Home study may thus in a double sense be application, 
whether it be of what was learned in class or of what was 
learned in the study itself. Thus the boy may learn in class 
how to factor the difference of two squares and apply the 
method to a series of home-study exercises, or he may in his 
home study by class-taught methods derive a mathematical 
formula and then apply it to appropriate exercises. For 
application in both these senses, the suggestions for home- 
study application are intended. 

Since a function of application is to give the fact or prin- 
ciple or process a broad significance, it follows that the appli- 
cation should be made to a wide variety of exercises or cases. 
This is in part secured by a well-chosen lesson assignment. 

' cf. p. 195. 



2:>p PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The student, however, should be encouraged to seek or in- 
vent as many concrete applications of what he has learned 
as possible. It is far more helpful to devise one application 
than to recognize two ready-made ones. For the same 
reason, he should endeavor to correlate what he has learned 
with as many other facts of his knowledge as he can. The 
fact learned in physics will mean much more if he sees its 
significance in explaining a hitherto puzzling phenomenon in 
botany or physical geography. The student who follows 
these two suggestions will by so doing stumble upon a sur- 
prising number of new and suggestive ideas. 

It need hardly be pointed out that application should be 
intelligent and that pupils should be taught that true appli- 
cation is that of thought and not of form only. Not infre- 
quently pupils work examples or apply processes by imita- 
tion. Effort must be made to render this habit unprofitable, 
and to develop an unwillingness to do formally that which 
is not understood. 

Expression. — Expression naturally plays a smaller part in 
study than does application, yet often a considerable one. 
Evidently nearly all that can be done for its training is that 
of the regular class work. The preparation of essays and 
reports provides the home study basis for it, and these are 
properly the object of classroom criticism and correction. It 
follows that the neglect of the form of expression in any sub- 
ject, whether English or history or physics, will produce bad 
habits, and in the case of reports based upon study, good 
expression should be demanded. At the same time, the pupil 
should be impressed with the idea that careless expression in 
that which he in study prepares for his own use only is quite 
as harmful as carelessness in reports for the class exercise. 
He should realize that expression is largely a matter of habit, 
and that all of his expression, whether for the class or for 
himself, plays a part in the formation of that habit. 

Conditions for Study. — The conditions for study have 
more influence upon its efficiency for school children than 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 237 

for adults. Moreover, those conditions are as a rule less 
under their control, and children with their limited experience 
and sense of responsibility do not usually make the best use 
of the conditions that surround them. Upon the school, 
therefore, devolves the obligation to provide the best possible 
conditions for study, and at the same time to train the 
pupils to the best use of those conditions. 

Recent investigations have confirmed a fact long known 
to teachers — that the home conditions for out-of-school study 
are seldom good, and that students are often unwise in their 
selection of lessons for home study. On the other hand, the 
study room of the typical high school falls far short of being 
an ideal place for study. The physical essentials of the 
good study hall, such as good ventilation and lighting, quiet 
and orderliness, and the avoidance of physical and mental 
fatigue, are topics lying in the domain of educational hygiene 
and administration rather than of method of instruction. 
With a properly administered study hall, however, it is obvi- 
ous that the conditions for study are as a rule better than 
those of the average home, and that there is normally the 
place for the preparation of lessons calling for the highest 
degree of concentration. 

Physical Conditions. — Over the physical conditions for 
home study, however, the pupil has a considerable degree of 
control, especially if he realizes their importance and is deter- 
mined to secure them. Teaching to study may profitably 
include teaching pupils the control of study conditions. 
Clearly, health is a first desideratum, and may be shown to 
depend much upon regularity of habits of work and recrea- 
tion, abundance of sleep (preferably evening rather than late 
morning sleep), nourishing food, abstinence from hard work 
or study inunediately after eating, and plenty of well-regu- 
lated out-of-door exercise. All of these tend to produce 
clear heads, ready thought, and a favorable disposition toward 
work. 

Whether students should be encouraged to study always 



238 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

alone or in groups of two or more is a practical and puzzling 
question to many a teacher. Certain it is that imder favor- 
able conditions the group study stimulates thought which 
would never occur to the student working alone. The dan- 
gers, on the other hand, are two: a habit of dependence in 
work on the part of the weaker student, and a frittering away 
of time in conversation on extraneous topics. If students 
can be trained to appreciate the importance of independence 
in thought, the spirit of true helpfulness, and the supreme 
importance of concentration upon the task in hand, the value 
of group study in subjects offering opportunity for discussion 
is certainly great. The author's experience is that the train- 
ing of students to do group study with profit demands pa- 
tience, sympathy, and watchfulness, but that in most cases re- 
sults can be attained which more than repay the effort made. 
Of the value and right use of time in study, pupils have 
usually very slight appreciation. One need but watch stu- 
dents in the typical study hall to be convinced of the enor- 
mous waste which characterizes their efforts, and necessarily 
becomes habitual with them. Much time is lost in getting 
started, due in part to a failure to catch the significance of 
the work confronting them, and in larger part perhaps to 
bad habits of work. They fail to realize that the first min- 
utes of the study hour are fully as valuable as the last. 
Closely related is the lack of systematic planning of work to 
be done. A glimpse at one lesson, a spasmodic attack upon 
another, and a superficial survey of a third, and the pupil 
finds the hour gone with little or nothing accomplished. 
One of the fundamental lessons to be taught high school 
boys and girls is the importance of regular fixed hours for 
specific tasks and the emplojnnent of those hours to the best 
advantage. Experience has shown the great benefit derived 
from the estabhshment of definite schedules of study for 
school children. W. C. Reavis^ finds that, by having each 

1 "The Importance of a Study Program for High School Pupils," in 
School Review, vol. XIX, pp. 398-405. 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 239 

pupil work out and adhere to a regular study programme, the 
students get their work more expeditiously, study more 
steadily, distribute their efforts more appropriately, get their 
lessons better, and have more time left for extra-scholastic 
activities. Thus they can be led to evaluate time, to form 
judgments as to how much an hour of study should effect, 
and to realize the advantage of intense effort and concen- 
trated attention. Setting a time limit upon the performance 
of a piece of work usually provides a stimulus to steady and 
intensive study. 

In general it is better for a class to study a lesson immedi- 
ately after its assignment. At that time its development 
and the meaning of the assignment are still fresh in mind, 
and the interest in the material has not been dissipated by 
intervening interests. A second advantage is that the fullest 
opportunity will be provided for the reference to Hbrary, 
museum, etc., for data needed in the lesson preparation. 
Further, such a plan prevents the too common practice of 
hastily and superficially preparing a lesson just before the 
recitation upon it, although a rapid review at that time of 
a lesson already mastered serves to renew impressions and 
should be encouraged. 

Mental Conditions. — Of the mental conditions for study, 
whether at home or at school, the most fundamental is evi- 
dently attention. We need no psychologist to tell us that 
when we attend we observe more quickly, learn more easily, 
and remember better. How to secure and hold attention is 
something which not only the teacher but the pupil also 
would like to know, and suggestions on the subject will be 
welcomed by any serious-minded student. 

Study is not sitting and staring at a book, while thinking 
of other things, but involves holding the thought to the 
topic under consideration. Possibly the greatest waste in 
study occurs in the form of dawdling, due largely to a failure 
to concentrate attention upon work. Recalling what was said 
in Chapter II, we must interpret most of this difficulty in 



240 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

terms of interest. When a lesson makes no appeal to a stu- 
dent, it is but natural that other subjects, in themselves of 
little significance, should prove more interesting than the 
lesson and attract his attention to themselves. The solution 
of the difficulty must be sought in two directions. In the 
first place, the student must be trained to isolate himself 
from the distractions, partly by selecting an environment 
with a minimum of distracting forces, partly by determinedly 
and completely ignoring them and thus rendering them in- 
different. This might be called concentration of attention 
by means of negation. The second and positive solution 
reaches back into the instruction of the class exercise, and is 
based on the principle that the thing given the pupil to do 
must appeal to him as worth while. When he feels the chal- 
lenge of a problem, and wants to find out or think out some- 
thing, when his feeling is really aroused by his reading, the 
temptation to attend to other things will not arise. The 
teacher must realize that not merely the content of the lesson 
but its form as well plays a large part in rendering its prep- 
aration interesting. Young people love action, and provi- 
sion for activity must be made in the assignment. They 
must be given something to do^ even though the doing in- 
volve an activity which of itself offers little value. Pupils 
in their study usually make too little use of paper and pencil, 
largely because the form of the assignment offers no occasion 
for their use. It is well, therefore, to let the assignment 
provide not only opportunity but occasion for written work. 
Encouraging pupils to outline the lesson and to summarize 
it in writing at the close of their study is thus advantageous, 
for the sake of the activity as well as for other considerations 
already mentioned. For the same reason students should be 
urged and trained to invent and introduce in their study 
devices for the employment of writing, not alone for the 
definiteness of thought thus encouraged, but because the 
activity facilitates mental concentration. By the introduc- 
tion of this and other forms of activity, a mediate interest 
may be provided to reinforce the immediate. 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 24 1 

Perhaps the hardest part of study is getting started. 
The dread of the task postpones its undertaking, and but 
adds to its unpleasantness by creating an unfavorable mood 
toward it. Let us teach and urge our pupils to plunge in 
immediately, and not stand shivering on the bank. Begin 
at once by doing something, and the more active it is the 
better it will bring the mind to attention. It takes time to 
"warm up" to the work, and this activity will help to hold 
the attention during this warming-up period. 

But attention is a fickle servant, and is prone to go on 
strike on slight provocation. Fatigue is its favorite pretext 
for quitting, and in such case there are two courses open. If 
possible, drive it back to its task, in the hope that it will 
"get its second wind," and will quite forget if not negate 
fatigue. Too long concentration, however, will so far fatigue 
as to render attention impossible. Forcing study when the 
brain refuses to respond is not merely useless but harmful, 
since it imnecessarily exhausts the nervous system and en- 
genders an attitude of distaste for the thing studied. A bet- 
ter method is that of laying the work aside for a time, and 
then returning to it later, refreshed in mind and body. 

Viewing the process as a whole, training the pupil to 
study is essentially a six-step procedure. 

1. Use good methods of thought in the class exercise. 

2. Make the student conscious of these methods as such. 

3. Show him how he can adapt these methods to his own 
needs. 

4. Secure favorable conditions for study. 

5. Guide him in the initiation of good methods of study. 

6. Insist on results which only good methods of study 
can secure. 

The fifth of these forms the topic for the following para- 
graph. 

3. Supervised Study 

Meaning of Supervision. — Supervised study as the term 
is now employed is primarily a plan for teaching to study. 



242 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

The placing of a teacher in charge of a study hall to maintain 
order and, when able, to help pupils over obstacles in their 
study, has long been a common practice. Supervision of 
study, however, converts the teacher in charge from a mere 
poHce ofiScer into a real instructor. Instead of a single 
teacher being called upon to assist pupils with difficulties in 
history and physics and Spanish and domestic science, it 
means that each teacher concerns himself with the prepara- 
tion of the lessons he has assigned. Instead of urging stu- 
dents to study, telling them how to get desired answers, and 
doing their work for them, or too often confessing ignorance 
of the subject, supervised study implies teaching the pupils 
how to do their own tasks, helping when needed, and through- 
out it all carrying out the purpose involved in the assignment. 
Investigations have demonstrated the advantages of 
supervised over imsupervised study.^ It extends the class- 
room instruction into the study hour, adapts it to individual 
needs, and directs the formation of correct habits of study, as 
well as enables the teacher to watch the results of his teach- 
ing and to supplement the instruction as needed. Moving 
about among the class, he is able to render needed assistance 
in the attack upon the lessons, to redevelop and clear up with 
individual students points not fully grasped in the class exer- 
cise, to make supplementary assignments to those who find 
the regular assignments too easy or whose study raises ques- 
tions for special investigation, and in short to effect indi- 
vidually the training discussed earlier in this section. Occa- 
sionally he may discover that some point in the lesson is 
causing difficulty for the whole class, in which case the study 
may be interrupted and a further general discussion or devel- 
opment of the difficult point may be introduced before further 
study is attempted. 

1 Cf. Breslich, "Thirteenth Yearbook of the National Society for the 
Study of Education," part I, pp. 32 Jf.; Judd, "Psychology of High School 
Subjects," chap. XVIII; Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," 
chap. XVI. 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 243 

The form and character of the supervised study must 
necessarily depend largely upon the subject matter. It is in 
many ways more exacting than the classroom instruction, 
offering constant temptation to tell rather than to instruct, 
to encourage dependence rather than to develop initiative. 
Probably it is no exaggeration to say that there are many 
teachers who know how to teach classes but few who know 
how to supervise study. High school teachers should be en- 
couraged to find out how their students really study, instead 
of shifting responsibility or assuming that the study is as 
well done as could be expected. Most of our secondary 
school-teachers and administrators have yet to learn that 
instruction includes both class exercise and lesson study. 

Administration. — For the administration of supervised 
study, no single plan has been generally accredited, though 
several have been tried with a goodly degree of success. One 
plan which observation and personal experience have com- 
mended to the author is what is known as the divided period. 
As employed in many high schools, the period is extended 
to sixty or eighty minutes, the first part of which is de- 
voted to the regular class exercise, and the latter part to 
supervised study, with no fixed distribution of time, the 
lesson assignment shading off into lesson study as the teacher 
may find expedient. The marked advantage of this plan is 
the intimate connection between lesson development, assign- 
ment, and study. Even though but twenty minutes of a 
sixty-minute period be left for supervised study, the author 
has foimd this of great value, because the greatest need for 
supervision is at the beginning of the lesson study, and the 
very shortness of the time makes the class reaHze with added 
force the importance of losing no time in attacking the lesson 
and catching the essential principles while the teacher is at 
hand to render needed assistance. Another plan is the pro- 
vision for one supervised study hour each day, the schedule 
allowing for each subject one hour per week; e. g., history on 
Mondays, mathematics on Tuesdays, etc. Other devices for 



244 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

study supervision are the conference or office hour, the study 
coach, and the unassigned teacher. Various other plans have 
been devised, most of them essentially similar to those men- 
tioned.^ 

In general, it may be said that the progress made by 
classes after first introducing supervised study is somewhat 
slow, but that as the class adapts itself to the system, the 
subsequent gain more than offsets the first loss. This is, of 
course, to be expected, since the initial acquisition of power 
has necessarily a slower tempo than its subsequent applica- 
tion. Objection, too, has been raised that the supervision of 
study is expensive, making demand upon more of each teach- 
er's time and effort. Experience seems to indicate, however, 
that such expense is ultimately less than is usually supposed.^ 
Moreover, if account is taken of increased efficiency as well 
as increased pay roll, it is a safe presumption that the plan 
is an economy rather than an extravagance, since it is so 
much a higher rate of return on the investment. With the 
development of more effectual and possibly more economical 
administration, it is reasonable to expect that another decade 
will see supervised study the rule rather than the exception 
in our better high schools. 

4. Summary 

Study is the school's best means for developing initiative 
and self-control of students. 

Good teaching is the basis for good study, which is essen- 
tially seK-teaching. The pedagogical principles which hold 
in recitation, in lesson development, and in expression-applica- 
tion are the principles of study. The teacher must make the 
pupil conscious of the methods of learning in tlie class exer- 

^ The general subject of the administration of study supervision in sec- 
ondary schools has been well treated by Hall-Quest in his book bearing 
the title "Supervised Study." 

* Cf, Minnich, in School Review, vol. XXI, p. 675. 



STUDY AS SELF-TEACHING 245 

cise, and must by guidance and favorable conditions help him 
to make these the methods of his study. 

Supervised study provides such assistance under various 
forms of administration. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Prepare a statement of all the arguments for and against home 
study by high school pupils. 

2. Why do not teachers more quickly recognize the need of teach- 
ing pupils to study ? 

3. What are the symptoms that show that pupils do not know 
how to study? 

4. Suggest some t5rpical assignments that call for the accomplish- 
ing of results instead of for the doing of specified things. 

5. Would it be weU to dictate to pupils suggestive outlines for 
the organization of lessons to be studied ? If so, how long should the 
practice be continued? 

6. Is it better to tell pupils in what books to find needed informa- 
tion, or to let them find out independently ? Why ? 

7. Should pupils be encouraged to seek information and assistance 
from teachers other than the teacher of the subject ? 

8. In showing pupils how to adapt the class-exercise method of 
attack to their study, would it be better to do so when the specific 
topic is developed in class, or to give them occasional instruction on 
the use of such methods in general? 

9. What are the advantages of having pupils keep a file of the 
papers they prepare as home-study exercises? 

10. Observe your routine of work and study for one or two days, 
and see what conditions surrounding your study are favorable, what 
are unfavorable. How far are you able to concentrate your atten- 
tion despite bodily discomfort? Despite distracting environment? 
How much time do you waste getting started ? 

11. Into what dangers is the inexperienced teacher most likely to 
fall when undertaking the supervision of study? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap. VIII. 
Rickard, "High School Students' Description of Their Methods of 

Study," in School Review^ December, 1915. 
Giles, "Investigation of Study Habits of High School Students," in 

School Review, September, 1914. 



246 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Zimmers, "Teaching Boys and Girls How to Study." 

Earhart, "Teaching Children to Study." 

Hinsdale, "Art of Study." 

McMurray, "How to Study and Teaching How to Study," especially 

chap. XI. 
Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. XVI. 
Colvin, "An Introduction to High School Teaching," chap. XVII. 
Starch, "Educational Psychology," chap. XXII. 
Judd, "Psychology of High School Subjects," chap. XVIII. 
Kitson, "How to Use Your Mind." 
Whipple, "How to Study Effectively." 
Bolton, "Principles of Education," pp. 262-280. 
Johnston, ed., "Modern High School"; chap. X on "The Direction of 

Study as the Chief Aim of the High School," by Hall-Quest; and 

chap. XI on "Social Value of School Study vs. Home Study," by 

Wiener. 
Hall-Quest, "Supervised Study." 
Roberts, "Supervised Study in the Everett High School," in School 

Review, December, 1916. 
Rapeer, "Educational Hygiene," chap. XXX. 



CHAPTER XIII 
LESSON ORGANIZATION 

I. Significance of Organization 

In the preceding chapters the work of instruction has 
been treated as falling under five modes, each fairly definite 
in character, yet frequently not distinguishable from the 
others, and at times overlapping upon them. The attempt 
has been made to show that any step in the regular instruc- 
tion of the secondary school can be viewed as one or more of 
these five modes, and it was further seen that the instruction 
was usually more effectual because better adapted to a definite 
aim when each step was undertaken principally or wholly as 
a single mode. At the same time, however, the teacher must 
not lose sight of the fact that these steps are not units in 
themselves, but are merely parts of the greater whole, the 
elements out of which the lesson as a unit is to be built up. 

In the same way, and for the same reason, the modes 
are not methods, but the components of methods. The method 
involves a selection and combination of modes, with the vari- 
ous components in var3dng proportion, and with a variety of 
content. Method is thus not mechanical or rigid, but is in- 
finitely various, as its components may be variously chosen, 
combined, and accented. Good method is that in which the 
modes are so chosen and combined as best to accomplish the 
particular aim of the lesson, an aim which the subject matter 
as well as the child's needs must determine. 

Recognizing the fact that the term * Wesson" is to be ap- 
plied not merely to the material to be taught but as well to 
the teaching of it, it follows that the organizing of the lesson 
with a view to teaching it involves the synthetic application 
of all the principles of instruction, and as such lies at the 
basis of all effectual teaching. , 

247 



248 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

2. The Lesson Plan 

Importance. — ^A well-executed purpose demands a well- 
formed plan. The teacher, preparing for the class exercise, 
must do more than know his subject matter and trust to in- 
spiration for his method, for inspiration is a fickle servant, 
frequently blundering, and more frequently off duty. The 
preparation of an adequate lesson plan demands much pains 
and time, but without it teaching is prone to deteriorate into 
school-keeping. At the risk of repetition, it will be worth 
while to suggest a few fundamental principles which may aid 
the teacher in formulating his lesson plans and building up 
his methods of instruction. 

The heart of the lesson is the development. It is there 
that the new material of the instruction is brought home to 
the pupil, and the other modes, recitation, expression-applica- 
tion, and laboratory, are for the sake of rendering the con- 
tent complete, usable, and permanent. It is there that the 
planning of the lesson must therefore begin. 

Lesson Aim. — Naturally a definite lesson aim must be de- 
termined at the outset; one to which the content is adapted 
and which fits in with the preceding and succeeding lessons. 
Taking account of the aims suggested in Chapter III, and of 
their special application to the content of the lesson, the 
teacher must ask himself: ''Just what is to be the product of 
this lesson? How is it to function in the development of my 
pupils, in view of what they have learned and are to learn?" 
Nor should we forget that the aim of a lesson is not wholly 
determined by its content. The same problem or topic may 
for different teachers, with different pupils, and in different 
contexts serve quite different purposes, depending upon choice 
of material employed and method followed. 

Content. — Thus, the second step in the organization of a 
lesson might be the selection of the content to be employed 
in its treatment. This involves far more than the collection 
of all available material bearing upon the subject. Nearly 



LESSON ORGANIZATION 249 

always there is far more material which is relevant and in it- 
self good teaching material than can be used. Moreover, 
much that is excellent must be sacrificed for something in- 
ferior in quality but better adapted to specific purposes. 
However, the lesson plan must not discard such, but include 
it as a kind of reserve, to be drawn upon if demanded by some 
unexpected situation in the class exercise. The want of such 
material restricts the teacher to the one anticipated procedure, 
often at the sacrifice of the spontaneity of the class. 

Next, the thought must be organized. Logical and psy- 
chological organization are two very different things, based 
upon subject matter and student mind respectively. In the 
teacher's own study, the logical organization is the first step, 
since he must thereby gain an adequate conception of the 
bearings and relationships of ideas involved, and of their rela- 
tive importance. Then, however, he must reconstruct the 
whole from the viewpoint of the learning process. It must 
be reorganized in the form in which the student, knowing 
what he does, can most naturally proceed in the lesson devel- 
opment. Here each point should be distinct, allowing for a 
step-by-step procedure, and should have a real function in 
the realization of the lesson aim, including the point or points 
to be made by the development. Here the teacher should 
not lose sight of the fact that what is organic to him, as its 
organizer, may be confused and disconnected to his pupils, 
who lack both his viewpoint and his power of analysis. How 
much of our teaching fails because our students do not see 
the seemingly obvious organization of our points ! Provision 
must be made for such variations of plan as the classroom 
development may demand, yet with the limitation that such 
variations should be of procedure rather than of aim, and 
should not occur unless the advantage secured by the change 
more than exceeds that Of following the plan for which prepa- 
ration had been made. 

Questions. — Lesson development implies student activity 
and participation. It must always proceed from a conscious 



2SO PRINCrPLES OF TEACHING 

want to its realization, and the rendering conscious of such 
wants is the function of the question. The formulation of 
stimulating questions, well aimed and expressed, is far from 
easy, and should not be left wholly to the inspiration of the 
class exercise. Such questions are the product of study and 
thought, to which the varied demands of the class exercise 
are not conducive. While it is true that the course of the 
lesson thought cannot be wholly anticipated, it is none the 
less true that those questions whereby new topics or lines of 
thought are introduced are to a degree independent, and can 
usually be prepared in advance. Such might be called 
*' pivotal questions," and upon their formulation the trend 
and the success of the lesson development largely depend. 

Expression- Application. — To the problematic, and still 
more the appreciation, mode of development the expression- 
application mode is so closely related as often to overlap 
them, and in a measure to appear thror '^out the entire class 
exercise. However, this should not resuit in the expression- 
application being neglected or wholly absorbed by the de- 
velopment or recitation procedure. Not infrequently it may 
occupy a considerable portion of the class hour. On the other 
hand, its position at the close of the period subjects it to the 
danger of being prematurely terminated. Lesson develop- 
ment necessarily requires time; usually more time than the 
beginning teacher expects. Accordingly expression-applica- 
tion must be given a real and definite place in the lesson plan, 
and specific provision should be made for the details of its 
procedure such as in board or seat work, or class discussion. 

Assignment. — The lesson assignment is the connecting- 
link between two class exercises. It determines almost 
vv^hoUy the plan of the next day's recitation procedure, as 
well as the student's independent study outside the range of 
the teacher's direct influence and aid. Once made, it must 
abide. The teacher in planning the assignment must, there- 
fore, see it through in its entirety, anticipating and measuring 
its difficulties and planning both the form and the amount 



LESSON ORGANIZATION 251 

of the assignment with these in view. Before the assignment 
is made, he must himself, ideally if not actually, prepare the 
lesson he proposes to assign, constantly asking himself re- 
garding the pupil's fitness to do intelligently what is required. 
Is this process, this knowledge, this concept already in the 
pupil's possession? Has he access in his home study to the 
sources, references, and materials involved ? If not, the need 
for such must be met in making the assignment, so that, 
undertaking his lesson preparation at home, he will not en- 
counter a need which blocks or hinders his preparation. 
How long will it take, not the teacher but the pupil, for the 
preparation of such a lesson? 

Recitation. — The day following the assignment the reci- 
tation mode completes the cycle of thought which began with 
the preceding development. It must, therefore, really com- 
plete it, so that further reference to its content occurs only as 
a review or as a part of the development of further content. 
This may therefore involve, especially in mathematics and 
the languages, the extension of the recitation procedure 
through the entire hour or even longer. In such prolonged 
recitation procedure there should be a degree of advance- 
ment in thought, with an increasing degree of complexity and 
implication, to secure both broader interpretation and con- 
tinued interest. The recitation mode is, in a way, a recon- 
struction of the previous development. Yet because of its 
being a reconstruction, most of the background and details, 
the scaffolding of the original construction, will be omitted. 
It may also recall data of previous study, for purposes of re- 
view, for connecting it with the new material just studied 
and to complete the foundation for the new lesson develop- 
ment immediately to follow. 

The recitation mode has, as we have already seen, a two- 
fold reference: as a reciting upon the previous day's assign- 
ment, and as a propaedeutic for the development of the day's 
lesson. The preparation of the lesson plan, therefore, must 
take account of these two fxmctions. In the first place it 



252 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

must recall the lesson developed on the previous day, with the 
assignment and its application, and must provide for ade- 
quate drill and test upon it as well as for its amplification and 
enrichment as needed. Problems and lines of questioning 
must be devised which will, without going into detail, probe 
for the vital points in the previous lessons and draw out the 
student's expression upon them. Secondly, the teacher must 
scrutinize again the plan for the day's development procedure, 
looking for all points wherein the products of the pupil's pre- 
vious study are presupposed. Then, in so far as opportunity 
offers and occasion justifies, he must make provision in the 
recitation procedure for the refreshing of the pupils' memory 
and power as involved, thus realizing the propaedeutic func- 
tion of the recitation. In most cases, with well-organized 
subject matter and a logical sequence of work, these two 
phases of recitation procedure will blend naturally, since the 
best preparation for the development of the new lesson will 
be a recitation upon the old one. 

Laboratory. — The use of the laboratory mode does not 
necessarily mean a distinct procedure under that name. It 
may be a part of the lesson preparation with the students 
working in library, laboratory, museum, field, or even at 
home. For high school pupils, especially in the sciences, 
care must be taken that the laboratory work does not cleave 
off from the classroom work and become for the class a course 
by itself, only remotely related to the class exercise. As we 
have already seen, it may even, as in Domestic Science, form 
a large part of the class exercise itself. 

The lesson plan, therefore, must see each unit of content 
through its entire course from its development, through its 
expression-application, its laboratory (if involved), and its 
recitation, and must even make provision for its merging into 
the development of the next content. In this way the work 
of instruction is rendered organic and unitary, and for the 
student, as well as the teacher, the course does not disintegrate 
into an accumulation of unrelated facts. 



LESSON ORGANIZATION 253 

Organization and Unity. — Thus, a lesson plan might well 
include such elements as a well-formulated aim, an outline of 
the thought and method of the recitation, development, and 
application, with the pivotal questions and occasional sum- 
maries to be employed in them, supplementary material and 
references which may be of use, and the proposed assignment. 
In the plan, especially in the recitation procedure, it might 
be well to indicate those points upon which it is intended to 
assist or question individual students as knowledge of their 
particular needs and capacities has shown it desirable. With- 
out sacrificing elasticity and adaptability in procedure, the 
teacher should have a fairly definite idea of the form and dis- 
tribution of activity, such as questioning, seat work, and 
board work, and of the distribution of time in the class exer- 
cise, as based upon the relative importance and the teaching 
difficulties of the various parts of the lesson. 

Yoimg teachers often ask that an illustrative lesson plan 
be shown them to pattern from. The author's experience, 
however, is that with such plans suggested there is often too 
much patterning at the cost of originality and suggestion. 
The lesson plan is merely one's formulation of his intentions; 
it is peculiarly personal, and will vary widely with different 
teachers and different subject matter. In the Appendix the 
reader will find the plans of a few lessons, some of which the 
author saw employed in the schoolroom, and which may 
serve to suggest to the inexperienced teacher how the prin- 
ciples suggested above may be applied. The teachers who 
prepared the plans were not perfect teachers (none such exist), 
but the plans suggested have at least the merit of being taken 
from the high school classroom, instead of from the profes- 
sorial chair. 

The thought which we have endeavored to emphasize 
throughout the preceding pages is that of freedom and indi- 
vidual initiative on the part of the teacher, yet an intelligent 
freedom based on a knowledge of the materials he uses. If, 
as he paints, the artist-teacher occasionally steps back and 



254 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

views the work he has done, the results of his efforts and ex- 
periments, and strives ever to remedy defects and broaden 
his field of endeavor, he will acquire skill in mixing his pig- 
ments and applying them for the reahzation of his design. 
Knowledge of the pigments and a few fundamental laws of 
color-mixture we have endeavored to supply. The design 
must be his own. 



3. Summaries in the Lesson 

Importance. — The organization of a lesson is far more 
obvious to the teacher who organizes it than to the student 
who sees only the lesson after its organization. The sum- 
mary, mentioned on page 253, is essentially a condensed re- 
statement or skeleton of the material in such form that its 
organization and perspective are rendered obvious and defi- 
nite to the student. At the same time, it serves as a kind of 
review of what has just been treated, thus securing greater 
permanency of its acquisition. 

The summary thus serves as a most effectual teaching 
device in the recitation, and even more in the development. 
For the student it converts a mass of data into a systematic 
unity, with each part significant in the plan of the whole, and 
the incidental distinguished from the fundamental. 

Requirements. — It follows, therefore, that the good sum- 
mary shall contain only essentials, rather than details, its 
points shall be really significant statements rather than para- 
graph titles, and that these shall be so worded as to impress 
the central thought directly and clearly upon the student's 
mind. Its logical place in the lesson will be at the completion 
of a large and complex unit of thought, surely at the comple- 
tion of the development procedure. A development which 
does not culminate in a summary is in grave danger of dis- 
integration and loss. 

In so far as possible the lesson summary should be the 
work of the class rather than of the teacher. While the 



LESSON ORGANIZATION 255 

latter should have his own summary in mind, his purpose 
must be to develop a summary with the class, thus training 
them in evaluative judgment as well as in orderly thinking. 
Moreover, a summary which they have helped formulate will 
be far more easy to remember. Having in mind his own 
summary, doubtless more complete and logical than theirs, 
he is to assist his pupils by question and suggestion only 
in so far as they of themselves fail to secure adequate re- 
sults. 

Naturally, in the development of a summary, the black- 
board will appeal strongly to the teacher, since it facilitates 
the showing of relationships. Finally, when completed, the 
summary in its approved form should be copied by the pupils 
in suitable notebooks, to be of service to them for subsequent 
study and reference. 

4. Review and the Review Lesson 

Character. — The foregoing paragraphs have had special 
reference to the typical lesson in which new material forms 
the central and dominating part. There is, however, another 
type of lesson or lesson procedure which deals primarily and 
almost wholly with material already studied. Such is the 
review, whether as the review lesson or as the review proce- 
dure as a part of a lesson. Moreover, in well-ordered teaching 
the review lesson will play a small part indeed, since the re- 
view activity should function largely in nearly every lesson. 
It has already been shown that it is better to revive memories 
often, even though briefly, than to do so at long intervals, 
however intensively. And true review as thus conducted is 
more than a revival, it is also an expansion and reappHcation. 
Whenever the teacher plans the work for any period of time, 
he must take account not alone of acquisition of new power 
but of conservation of that already acquired. He must ever 
seek to build the old into the new, and to utilize it in the 
mastery of the new. This constant renewal and broadening 



256 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

of material through its expanding place in the whole is the 
best kind of review. 

Yet the review lesson also has its place, because of its 
broader range and opportunity for organization. Its mode 
is that of recitation, frequently combined with application. 
Usually it differs from the recitation procedure of the typical 
lesson in that its content is derived from a much larger field 
and longer period of study, although conducted similarly to 
it. It is largely because of this difference of scope that it has 
to a peculiar degree the added function of organizing the 
lessons previously studied, while sharing with the other the 
purpose of insuring permanency of retention. 

Requirements. — From the nature of a review, it is ob- 
vious that only the essentials of its content can receive atten- 
tion. A review exercise must necessarily pass over the de- 
tails. This does not mean that they shall be taken for 
granted, but rather that the essentials shall be so dealt with 
as to presuppose and demand a knowledge of detail. This is 
due not so much to lack of time as to the importance of select- 
ing and setting forth the more fimdamental principles and 
significant facts, not in isolation but in an organic unity. 
Too often, in the study of new material, the necessary atten- 
tion to particular facts and details of procedure cause the 
student to lose his perspective of the relationship and signifi- 
cance in what he is studying. The review lesson or exercise 
offers the opportunity for the organization of this otherwise 
unorganized material. 

With this conception of the organizing function of the re- 
view, it is evident that the frequency of the review lesson is 
to be determined not by the calendar but by the content. 
Naturally, the time to review is upon the completion of a 
unit of thought, for then only can one reaUze the significance 
both of part to part and of the whole to other lines of thought. 

Review is more than reciting. Merely recalling what has 
been retained or revived by special study does not fulfil this 
broader function of review. It demands the active co- 



LESSON ORGANIZATION 257 

operation of the teacher in the pupil's thinking, leading him 
by question and suggestion, even by supplementing his 
knowledge, to discover the broader meanings hitherto un- 
noticed. This means, then, that merely giving a written 
test upon work previously studied, however valuable in it- 
self, must not be called review. The review may well cul- 
minate in a test, but the test is not a review. 



5. Summary 

The lesson plan should include a well-formulated aim, a 
carefully selected and organized content, an appropriate 
lesson development and application, introduced by a recita- 
tion which connects the past study with the new lesson, and 
a definite assignment. Pivotal questions should be formulated 
for the introduction of topics and lines of thought. Provision 
should be made for the form and distribution of the lesson 
activity at each step, in so far as possible without sacrificing 
freedom of adaptation and initiative. 

At the completion of units of thought in the lesson, the 
class should work out summaries, thus securing organization 
of thought as well as deepening of impression. 

The review, deaHng with old material, should serve not 
alone to secure permanence of acquisition but more especially 
better organization of content. Its frequency should be de- 
termined rather by subject matter than by time intervals. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. What practical difficulties will result from making the written 
lesson plan too detailed? From- making it too general (leaving too 
much to memory or inspiration)? 

2. Will pupils lose confidence in a teacher when they see that he 
uses a written lesson plan ? 

3. Is it wise for the teacher to be seen to read his pivotal questions 
from his written lesson plan ? Give reasons. 

4. Mention the advantages of keeping a permanent file of all 
lesson plans used. 



258 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

5. Prepare several lesson plans in accordance with the principles 
suggested. 

6. Watch some good teacher and see if you can make out his les- 
son plan from his teaching. 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Dewey, "How We Think," chap. XV. 
Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap. XVI. 
Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. XXI. 
Colvin, "An Introduction to High School Teaching," chap. XVI. 
Bowman, "The Lesson Plan for Inexperienced Teachers," in Industrial 

Arts Magazine, September, 1916. 
Twiss, "A Textbook in the Principles of Science Teaching," chap. V. 
Whipple, " Guide to High School Observation." 



CHAPTER XIV 

STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 

I. Efficiency in Teaching 

The Need for Measurements. — A merchant who kept no 
account books, who never prepared a balance sheet or took 
an inventory would in our present economic world soon ex- 
perience bankruptcy. The successful business man of to-day 
is constantly submitting each department and method of his 
business to careful scrutiny, applying everywhere tests and 
measurements to assure himself that his entire system is 
actively contributing to the desired results. 

Sooner or later the tree is to be known by its fruits, and 
the teaching profession has within a decade awakened to the 
applicabihty of this principle in the educational world. 
Hitherto, too much has been taken for granted, too Httle 
has been scrutinized for results. The peculiar professional 
character of educational work and the long interval of time 
between education-getting and education-using has shielded 
the teacher from the responsibility for the products of his 
labors. In consequence, he has assumed that the absence of 
direct criticism from without means successful procedure, 
and he has satisfied himself with that procedure accordingly. 
The examination system has been utiUzed as a test of the 
performance of individual pupils, but with rare exceptions 
the teacher has never noticed that even this inadequate exer- 
cise was also a partial measure of the instruction. Moreover, 
when the instructor prepares the examination questions for 
his class and is the sole authority in the grading of the answer 
papers, he has no basis for the evaluation of their perform- 
ance as compared with the work of students under other 
instructors. 

259 



26o PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Unfortunately this complacency is ill-grounded. Our 
methods of instruction are largely the result of imitation, too 
often we have lost any consciousness of aim which may have 
functioned originally, and mere inertia is all that serves to 
perpetuate them. The layman does not challenge them be- 
cause of recognized incompetency, the supervisor often lacks 
the time and skill to criticise, and the instructor himself is 
too intimately involved in the procedure to pass judgment 
upon it. The need is for standards which are sufficiently 
objective and impersonal for the instructor to employ in 
measuring his own work, and which are general enough to 
render possible a comparison of the work of many individuals. 

Scientific method takes nothing for granted. No more 
should instruction, especially if it would lay claim to being a 
science. It is but natural that the teacher should assume the 
success of his efforts when their failure is not forced upon his 
attention. Partly for fear of displajdng ignorance or dul- 
ness, partly for fear of seeming to imply poor teaching, partly 
from a disposition to follow the line of least resistance, pupils 
do not tell the teacher that his efforts to teach them have 
not succeeded, but instead there is a tendency for the students 
to appear to have succeeded and for the teacher to credit 
such appearance unquestioningly. Day by day, the pupils 
turn in reasonably correct answers to problems, and the teach- 
ers do not challenge the thinking whereby the answers were 
obtained. Thus, pupils come to regard the situation as 
normal, and the instructor becomes increasingly credulous 
and uncritical. What is needed is some kind of indicator 
which will serve to report to the teacher that his efforts are 
not meeting with the success desired, and to develop in the 
student the habit of insisting upon the mastery of work un- 
dertaken. 

Wise business management requires every department of 
the business to show that it is making each dollar and each 
hour invested bring in the maximum return. Considering 
the enormous outlay in money and labor expended in the 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 26 1 

work of teaching, it is highly important that there too the 
highest possible efficiency be attained, and the element of 
waste be reduced to a minimmn. The teacher who accepts 
the commission of converting these resources into educational 
products thereby implicitly undertakes to employ only the 
most effectual methods, and must accordingly be on the 
watch for any device for the recognition and employment of 
superior and economical modes of procedure. 

Advantages to be Gained by Measurement. — Because of 
the absence of an external challenge upon his work, because 
of the tendency to take success for granted, and because of 
the obligation to secure maximal result from the resources 
provided, the educator is in need of suitable standards for 
checking up and evaluating his work through its results. 
These requirements, which apply to the entire educative 
activity, whether administrative or instructional, suggest 
several ways in which the special field of instruction would 
derive benefit from a suitable system of standardization and 
measurement of teaching products. 

In the first place, an adequate evaluation of personal ac- 
complishment would be facilitated. For purposes of the 
grading and promotion of individual students, a standard 
would be provided whereby to adequately rate his attain- 
ments. Under the prevailing system the instructor has no 
accurate method of evaluation. Examinations are at best 
only fragmentary; class grades do not represent ultimate 
achievements of fitness for promotion. Too often the things 
which the instruction is designed to secure are not made the 
basis for ranking of the pupil's achievement. Moreover, it is 
not enough to know where the student stands at a given point 
of time. Quite as important is it to know just what progress 
he has made in a given period of time. Thus, by measuring 
his achievement at regular intervals, it is possible to deter- 
mine what his progress has been, and whether he is gaining 
ground as rapidly as is expected or might be desired. Nor is 
the application of standardization limited to individual stu- 



262 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

dents. Immense value comes from a comparison of work, 
between classes and between institutions. Both teacher and 
supervisor should be able to determine whether the work of 
a class measures up to a standard which might reasonably be 
expected of it, and such standard is naturally determined by 
a comparison of the work of many classes and institutions and 
instructors. Thus the value of a standard available for the 
evaluation of achievement would obviously be great. 

A second value, and one which concerns us peculiarly in 
the present study, lies in the opportunity afforded for the 
reliable evaluation of various teaching methods. Day after 
day, year after year, we follow a settled plan of instruction, 
confident that it is effectual, but without justification for our 
confidence. Or, if two alternative methods occur to us, we 
are prone to select the one which looks the better, but without 
positive knowledge of its superiority. In either case, the only 
adequate procedure is to test for products, and to let the result 
of our testing determine our choice of further procedure. 
The old method of memorizing a poem line by line was gen- 
erally accepted as the best until an experimental test estab- 
lished the superiority of learning by much larger units. For 
the determination of the value of methods and the selection 
of the most effectual there are needed established standards 
of comparison and methods of measurement if conjecture 
and custom are to give way to certainty and progress. 

Finally, scientifically applied methods of testing are of 
inestimable value in discovering the peculiar needs and 
talents of individual students. Class instruction tends to 
produce a collective attitude on the teacher's part in his 
treatment of the class. While it is wise and necessary to 
employ much the same method of instruction for all mem- 
bers of the group, it is equally important that the individual 
needs of the students be recognized and met in the employ- 
ment of the method, and the knowledge of such individual 
needs can best be obtained by well-planned, scientifically 
devised tests and measurements. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 263 

The need and value of such standardization is to-day gain- 
ing general recognition among educators, but as yet compara- 
tively little has been accomplished in the supplying of that 
need. The problem is a most difficult one, and what little 
has been done toward the solution has been restricted largely 
to elementary education. This does not mean, however, that 
the secondary school teacher need not concern himself in the 
matter until scientists have completed the task of standardiza- 
tion. Rather he must be familiar with the essentials and the 
application of standards so that when they are proposed as 
they are bound to be soon, he will be able to employ them 
discriminatingly and effectually. At the same time, there is 
much that he can do by way of improving what tests he is 
already emplo3ang, and rendering them more significant, and 
interpreting better their results. Finally, he may actively 
participate in the work of formulating standards, even in a 
humble way, by studying carefully the aim and essentials of 
educational measurements, and trying out such simple tests 
as seem to him helpful and significant. 



2. Essentials of Standardization 

In the commercial world, standardization has been and 
is being carried into all the fields of intercourse. There are 
standards of length, of weight, of value; standard sizes of 
builders' materials, standard weight of the bushel, standard 
strength of chemical solutions. Efficiency in education, as in 
commerce, demands the establishment of educational stand- 
ards, as the preceding section has already shown us. 

Essentials in Measurement. — What is a standard? In 
view of its obvious purpose, the facilitation of comparison be- 
tween individuals and groups with regard to some specified 
feature, we find five essentials which any standard, in edu- 
cation as well as elsewhere, must possess. These we shall 
call objectivity, definiteness, absoluteness, inclusiveness, and 



264 PRINCIPLES OP TEACHING 

practicability.^ A brief discussion of each seems to be called 
for. 

By the term "objectivity" of a standard is meant its free- 
dom from personal bias on the part of the one employing 
it. An objective standard is one which conveys the same 
meaning to all competent observers. The hour, the meter, 
and the degree are thus objective standards. On the other 
hand, such assertions as "this problem is as easily solved by 
algebra as by arithmetic" involve a purely subjective stand- 
ard, since what is easier for one pupil is often more difficult 
for another. 

The term "definiteness" needs but little explanation. A 
standard, in order to serve as a basis for measurement and 
comparison, must have an exact meaning. When there is 
uncertainty as to its interpretation, when the observer can 
read into it anything except a single meaning, it loses its 
value as a standard. The tables of measurement and the 
established standards of the commercial world mean, every- 
where and always, an exact and permanent value. The pro- 
verbial recipe which calls for "a pan of flour, a small cupful 
of sugar, and a little salt," involves, for the uninitiated at 
least, anything but a definite standard of measurement. "A 
reading knowledge of French" as a requirement for advanced 
study is well known to admit of widely varying interpreta- 
tions because of its indefiniteness. 

Absoluteness, the third essential of a good standard, sug- 
gests the idea of independence and fixity. An absolute 
standard is one whose value is not dependent upon some 
changeable factor, but is always the same because it is free 
from variable conditions. The absoluteness of the meter as 
a standard is insured by making it the length of a certain 
metal bar in Paris, at a specified temperature. The ability 
to spell all the words in "Thanatopsis" would constitute an 
absolute standard, though doubtless one of little educational 
value. On the other hand, the ability to spell the best in a 

* Cf. Thorndike, "Mental and Social Measurements," pp. 11-18. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 265 

class of sixth grade children would not serve for a standard 
of spelling ability, for in another sixth grade the superiority 
in spelling might mean a higher or a lower degree of efficiency. 

The fourth essential is inclusiveness, both of range and of 
gradations. In careful measurement, we never lay down our 
walking-stick and say, *'the room is seven times as long as 
the stick," or ^'the hne is four-fifths of the length of the 
stick." It is an established psychological principle that the 
most accurate judgment is of equality, and that the estimation 
of considerable differences and of relative amounts is exceed- 
ingly inaccurate. So, in measuring, we choose a measure at 
least as long as the line to be measured, and seek to find some 
known length on the measure just equal to the length of the 
line measured. In like manner, if we wish to measure the 
spelling efficiency of a number of children, we require a stand- 
ard scale of spelling performances extending at least to the 
quality of the best performance in the group, and including 
already evaluated performances approximately corresponding 
in quahty to the performances of the various children. 

The fifth requirement, practicability, involves the work- 
ableness of the proposed standard in the measurement of the 
various things for which it is intended. Miles or kilometres 
are far more practicable than inches and centimetres as stand- 
ards for geographical distances. Abihty to image the scenes 
described would not serve as a standard in measuring historical 
study, since it would be impossible to know or to calculate 
the results secured. 

Measurableness. — ^But the possession of a suitable stand- 
ard is not all of measurement. There are certain principles 
which govern in the method and the range of its application. 
In educational work especially, the complexity of both ma- 
terial and standard and the comparative newness of the field 
demand no small degree of caution in the application of mea- 
surements, and efforts to measure that which in the present 
development of our method is incapable of measurement are 
common but unfortunate. 



266 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

What can be measured? The answer lies in the nature 
of measurement. When we wish to know the length of a 
garden, we provide ourselves with a standardized length in 
the form of a tape measure, and by comparison determine the 
standardized length on the tape measure which (as nearly as 
possible) matches the length of the garden. The result con- 
stitutes the dimension of the garden. The same principles 
and method hold in educational as in linear measurements. 
In the first place, our measurement of the garden demands a 
standard which can be used for the entire distance measured. 
If the garden is crossed by a high wall so that the tape 
measure cannot be accurately used, our efforts are thwarted. 
The further requirement, closely related to that just men- 
tioned, is that the terminal points of the measurement be 
accessible. If one end of the garden is completely inacces- 
sible, measurement would be impossible. 

Educational measurements demand the same conditions, 
viz., an applicable standard and accessible termini of measure- 
ment, and only those things can be measured wherein these 
requirements are met. As yet, applicable standards for edu- 
cational measurements are very few, and most of these are 
applicable to elementary education only. Extreme difficulty 
is experienced in the formulation of standards which meet 
the five requirements mentioned at the beginning of the pres- 
ent section. In the evaluation of students' achievements, it 
is hard to find standards such that all observers employing 
them will give the same judgments. Definite standards such 
that the meaning and values are unmistakable require great 
care in the formulating. Standards whose values are so well 
established as to be absolute and uniform for all times and 
conditions, materials and judges, are not readily devised. 
The securing, selecting, and ranking of a series of graded speci- 
mens of educational efficiency involves extended search and 
careful discriminating judgment. Much experimental in- 
vestigation is required in the discovery of standards which 
can be readily and generally applied. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 267 

To say that the termini of measurement must be acces- 
sible means that we must be able to determine the location 
both of the performance as given for measurement and of the 
zero degree of such performance. We must really know just 
what the individual or group is presenting us; the thing we 
take to be the index of capacity must be truly indicative of 
that capacity. Measuring the capacity of the trained mathe- 
matician by means of a sixth grade examination paper in 
arithmetic would be futile, since the performance would not 
represent that capacity. His capacity can be measured only 
when we can employ a test the response to which represents 
the exercise of that capacity to its utmost. Moreover, the 
true evaluation of his achievement is possible only when we 
can say how much power it represents: how much better it is 
than no power at all, or the zero ability. When a stone is 
said to weigh five pounds, it means that it weighs five pounds 
more than nothing. The determination of the zero point 
in educational capacities is one of the first steps in standard- 
ization, and demands extensive experiment and calculation. 
At best, it is ultimately a matter of the judgment of many 
competent observers in which there is a reasonable degree of 
agreement. 

Applications of Measurement. — What specific elements in 
secondary instruction can be measured? In terms of the 
aims of instruction, as mentioned in Chapter III,^ there are 
five results which good instruction will effect and which the 
successful pupil will possess: knowledge, thought power, 
appreciation, efficiency in expression and application, and 
permanency. To which of these are the methods of measure- 
ment applicable? That suitable measurements for even a 
considerable number of them have not yet been devised we 
have already seen. 

Elnowledge seems evidently the easiest for which to test. 
One has but little more to do than to list the facts the pupil 
might be expected to know, and ask memory questions enough 

1 Cf. p, 30. 



268 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

to draw out the desired information provided neither exam- 
iner nor pupil perish from exhaustion during the process. 
Indeed, it is the enormity of the amount of material rather 
than its inaccessibility that renders an adequate testing of 
knowledge impossible, and herein lies much of the basis for 
the criticism that an examination consisting largely of memory 
questions is largely a test of endurance and a matter of chance. 
As we come more and more to realize that the possession of 
information is not the final educational aim, the importance 
placed upon the examination primarily for knowledge dimin- 
ishes. 

The testing for thought power presents a more difficult 
problem. Some work has been done along the line of mathe- 
matical reasoning and the interpretation of reading content, 
and less in the field of judgment. For the power of imagina- 
tion, no test has yet been devised. Naturally there is en- 
countered difficulty in the formulation and application of an 
adequate standard, for it is not easy to say that two different 
thought problems are equally difficult for a student, or that 
the same problem represents the same capacity on the part of 
two different students. With any but the simpler forms of 
mathematical reasoning and possibly of judgment, the thought 
process is highly complex and individual, and depends largely 
upon the pupil's previous experience. In the case of im- 
agination, the difficulty of measurement is much increased 
by the discrepancy between the imagery and its expres- 
sion. 

Appreciation is clearly the most difficult of all to measure. 
Like imagery, but to a much greater degree, it is so far re- 
moved from its expression as to be seemingly inaccessible. 
It is for this reason that many excellent teachers oppose the 
giving of examinations in literature, feeling that the examina- 
tion would tend to overemphasize the knowledge element in 
the study, and would afford no measure of the vital element, 
the appreciation. It is of course well for the student to com- 
pare cesthetic situations as to their appeal to the observer, 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 269 

but anything like a scientific measurement of that appeal and 
its response is as yet far from realized.^ 

Efficiency, as the student's ability to express and apply 
his experience, is necessarily a factor in all forms of testing. 
His knowledge, his thought, and his feeling can be measured 
only in so far as they can find expression and application. 
At the same time, it is often possible to grade students' per- 
formances as to efficiency in expression and application as 
distinct from the content expressed or applied. In com- 
position work, the form of expression, including the selection 
of words and style of writing or of speech, may be evaluated. 
In practically all forms of scholastic work, the element of 
application can be investigated. In this latter case, the most 
work has been devoted to the standardization of skill in the 
application of rules and processes, such as the mathematical 
operations, the observcince of grammatical and rhetorical 
principles, and the functioning of training in penmanship and 
reading. Speed and accuracy of performance play a large 
part in the measurement of application. However, the ex- 
pression and application are but the form which the content 
assumes, and their measurement apart from that of their 
content, the knowledge, thought, and feeling, is difficult, if 
not impossible. 

Of measurement for permanency, the last statement holds 
with equal validity. To measure permanency is but to mea- 
sure the degree to which experience persists when once acquired. 
It is virtually a memory test, and involves implicitly an ex- 
amination for all the other four instruction aims. While 
many investigations to determine the best methods of learn- 
ing have been made, no standardization for it has yet been 
effected in the same way in which thought power and skill 
have been standardized. Doubtless as its importance is 
better realized it will receive more attention, for there appears 



1 Cf. "Tests of Esthetic Appreciation," by Thorndike, in the Journal 
of Educational Psychology, November, 19 16. 



270 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

to be no inherent difficulty to prevent its measurement and 
standardization. 

What has been said suggests a limitation to which the en- 
tire measurement problem is subject. The various activities 
are so intimately interwoven that a test for any one is at the 
same time a partial test for most or all of the others. The 
complete isolation of any one of them is impossible, so that the 
results obtained indicate more than the measure of some single 
element. For educational purposes, however, this is not a 
fatal difficulty, for the desired products of instruction are 
always compounds of these elements, and it is educational 
products alone which it is worth while to measure, whether 
in determining the educational progress of the child and his 
fitness for promotion, in discovering the most effectual 
methods of instruction, or as a basis for the comparison of in- 
dividuals or groups. The importance of the consideration of 
the elements separately lies in the necessity for their recog- 
nition and consideration in the measuring. 

That a real prejudice exists against the measurement and 
standardization of educational products is largely due to the 
complexity just mentioned, and the fear that measurements 
cannot be appKed to them without failing to measure vital, 
perhaps the most vital, elements in them. It is felt by some 
that only certain minor phases of instruction are amenable 
to quantitative treatment, and that the attempts made tend 
to an overemphasis of these minor phases in educational 
evaluations. That such a danger exists is doubtless true. 
However, it must be remembered that the work of standardiza- 
tion is yet in its infancy, but is imperatively needed for the 
attainment of maximal efficiency in teaching. The results al- 
ready attained are proving of inestimable value, and with a 
careful prosecution of the investigations and a proper evalu- 
ation of the results actually achieved, the teaching efficiency 
in our schools, secondary as well as elementary, will ex- 
perience a real and inestimable advance. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 27 1 

3. Typical Standards and Forms of Measurement 

The Two Kinds of Measurement. — The surveyor seeking 
to determine the elevation of a mountain must first know the 
level of the sea, which is to serve him as the zero elevation. 
Not that he must actually drill a hole into the earth until 
sea level is reached. But he must know how far down it 
lies; it must be ideally accessible, in order that the elevation 
of the peak may be measured from it. In the same way, the 
educational investigator, seeking to evaluate the student's 
proficiency, must know the zero point of that proficiency. 
He must either find or manufacture a specimen of work which 
is to represent just no proficiency at all of the type to be 
investigated. 

Let us, however, conceive of a surveyor who for some reason 
does not know and cannot find the sea level. Evidently he 
cannot ^.determine how many feet high the mountain peak is, 
but there remains something which he can do which may 
prove of real value. He can form a comparison of the given 
peak with neighboring peaks. So the educator who cannot 
determine numerically just how much a student's perform- 
ance is better than zero may still give it a rating in terms of 
the work of other students of the same age or class. 

Thus we have two types or grades of measurement. In 
the one, the comparison is made with a known zero point, 
above which the performances of students are rated in terms 
of absolute value. This, of course, is the ideal measurement. 
In the second type, the comparison is made solely with the 
achievements of other students, and all that can be deter- 
mined is relative merit. Obviously, this is far inferior to the 
former type as regards scientific exactness, mainly because of 
the variability of the assumed standard, the work of other 
students. It is, however, far from valueless, and for some 
purposes its results may serve quite as well as those of the 
absolute standard, in the former type. The present section 
aims to give the reader a conception of the kind of work al- 



272 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ready. done in the formulation of standards and systems of 
measurements of these two types. Although our interest is 
primarily in secondary education, the extremely limited de- 
gree of work yet done in that field and the overlapping be- 
tween elementary and secondary education, especially in the 
junior high school, justify a brief treatment of some standardi- 
zation already attempted in the elementary field. 

Measurement in Various Studies. — The work done in the 
study of school children's handwriting will possibly be the 
simplest to explain and the most convenient starting-point 
for our treatment of the subject. As a standard for the grad- 
ing of the handwriting of children of the four upper grammar 
grades (fifth to eighth), Professor Thorndike has prepared a 
scale (commonly called the Thorndike Scale), consisting of a 
series of specimens of handwriting representing various de- 
grees of excellence, and each quality being numbered accord- 
ing to its position in the series or scale. The number of each 
quality in the scale is thus an index of its relative merit. 
Professor Thorndike's own explanation may profitably be 
quoted. ^'The use of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 
17 for these quahties of handwriting means first of all, that 
14 is as much better than 13, as 13 is than 12; that 13 is as 
much better than 12, as 12 is than 11, and so on. In the 
second place it means that quaHty 14 is two times as far 
above o merit in handwriting as quality 7 is; that quaHty 16 
is twice as far above o merit in handwriting as quality 8 is, 
and so on. Zero merit is defined roughly as ... a hand- 
writing, recognizable as such, but of absolutely no merit as 
handwriting. The use of several samples under one quality 
means that these samples are of equal merit. The scale in- 
cludes samples of as many different styles as could be ob- 
tained, so that in using the scale the merit of any sample of 
any style of writing can be quickly ascertained by comparison 
with the scale. The scale extends in actual samples by chil- 
dren from nearly the worst writing of fourth grade children 
(quality 5) to nearly the best writing of eighth grade children 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 273 

(quality 17). Quality 7 is nearly the worst writing of fifth 
grade children. 

''The scale includes a sample of a copy book model which 
is rated by competent judges as of approximately quaHty 18, 
two samples of fourth grade writing which are judged to be 
approximately of qualities 6 and 5, and a very bad writing, 
artificially produced, which is rated by competent judges as 
of approximately quality 4. The scale thus extends from a 
quality better than which no pupil is expected to produce, 
down to a quality so bad as to be intolerable, and probably 
almost never found in school practice in the grammar grades." 

"Any specimen of handwriting is measured by this scale 
by putting it alongside the scale, as it were, and seeing to 
what point on the scale it is nearest." ^ The derivation of 
the scale is a long and complicated process, and does not con- 
cern us in our present discussion. For an explanation of the 
process, the reader is referred to Professor Thorndike's ac- 
count of it in the publication from which we have quoted. 

The Hillegas Scale for the measurement of quality in Eng- 
lish composition^ is constructed on the same principle as the 
foregoing. Here again a series of samples of compositions 
is made the basis for evaluation, by comparison with which 
the composition to be measured is ranked. The following 
specimens taken from the Hillegas Scale will afford some idea 
of its character. The first sample is a purely artificial one, 
supplied for the purpose of providing a zero quality. The 
other samples here given are the work of high school students, 
of second, first, and third year classification, respectively. 

Sample 580. Value o. 

Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is I say 
they is I went to school, red and gree green and brown aint it hito bit 
I say he don't know his business not today nor yesterday and you 
know it and I want Jennie to get me out. 

iThorndike, "Handwriting," in Teachers College Record, March, 1910. 
2 Hillegas, "English Composition," in Teachers College Record , Septem- 
ber, 1912. 



274 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Sample 94. Value 369. 

When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself 
consul so sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest siezed 
the government from Marius and put himself in consul and had a list 
of his enemys printy and the men whoes names were on this list we 
beheaded. 

Sample 196. Value 675. 

Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy Hollow. 
He was tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms that dangled 
far below his coat sleeves. His feet looked as if they might have 
easily been used for shovels. His nose was long and his entire frame 
was most loosely hung to-gether. 

Sample 221. Value 772. 

GOING DOWN WITH VICTORY 

As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from 
nearly every window. I surely felt proud that day to be the driver of 
the gaily decorated coach. Again and again we were cheered as we 
drove slowly to the postmasters, to await the coming of his majestie's 
mail. There wasn't one of the gaily bedecked coaches that could have 
compared with ours, in my estimation. So with waving flags and 
fluttering hearts we waited for the coming of the mail and the expected 
tidings of victory. 

When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly sort 
the bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon receiving our 
bundles, I lashed the horses and they responded with a jump. Out 
in the country we drove at reckless speed — everywhere spreading like 
wildfire the news, "Victory!" The exileration that we all felt was 
shared with the horses. Up and down grade and over bridges, we 
drove at breakneck speed and spreading the news at every hamlet 
with that one cry "Victory!" When at last we were back home 
again, it was with the hope that we should have another ride some 
day with "Victory." 

In the interpretation of the values assigned, the same prin- 
ciple holds as in the handwriting scale. For example, sample 
221 is rated as a little more than twice as good as sample 94, 
and about seven-sixths as good as sample 196. "Merit in 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 275 

English writing is complex. Judges are influenced both by 
form and by content. Such factors of form as spelling, 
punctuation, capitalization, and the like are subject to definite 
rules. Form is, therefore, more easily measured than con- 
tent. When an individual is in doubt concerning the relative 
merits of two EngHsh compositions, the tendency is to fix 
upon some one or more of the obvious form elements, and for 
the time being to give them undue importance in fixing the 
relation of the samples. 

"No attempt has been made in this study to define merit. 
The term as here used means just that quality which com- 
petent persons commonly consider as merit, and the scale 
measures just this quality. . . 

"The value of any English composition may be obtained 
by placing it beside the samples constituting the scale and 
determining to which it most nearly corresponds." ^ Thus 
applying Doctor Hillegas's explanation to the samples given 
above, if the reader thinks the sample to be measured "is 
better than sample 196 but not as good as sample 221, he 
may place the value between 675 and 772. By this method 
the value of any sample may be expressed as accurately as 
the individual cares to make it." Unfortunately English 
composition is necessarily a very complex thing for evalua- 
tion; much more so than handwriting or drawing. The Hil- 
legas Scale has been criticised on two grounds: lack of inclu- 
siveness and lack of definiteness. Experience has shown that 
it is not sufficiently inclusive in that it lacks small enough 
subdivisions; that the intervals between the specimens con- 
stituting the scale are too wide to render possible the rating 
of the various merits of compositions that occur in practice. 
To meet this defect there has been issued the Thomdike Ex- 
tension of the scale, wherein are included a larger number of 
specimens of different merit, and accordingly separated by 
smaller intervals. This Extension also seeks to remedy the 

1 Hillegas, *' English Composition," in Teachers College Record, Septem- 
ber, 1912. 



276 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

other defect mentioned, the lack of definiteness, by placing 
in the scale more than one specimen for each quality, in order 
that the user of the scale may find in it a specimen similar 
in type as well as merit to the composition he would score. 

Another effort to meet the demand for definiteness has 
been made in what is known as the Harvard-Newton Scale,^ 
prepared by the teachers of Newton, Massachusetts, working 
co-operatively with F. W. Ballou, of Harvard University. 
This is virtually a set of four scales, including one in each of 
the four types of composition: description, exposition, argu- 
mentation, and narration. Each scale consists of six com- 
positions, selected from the work of eighth grade pupils, and 
assigned score values according to the marks given by the 
teachers. They are so selected that the scores approximate 
forty-five per cent, fifty-five per cent, sixty-five per cent, 
seventy-five per cent, eighty-five per cent, and ninety-five per 
cent in each set. Each specimen is followed by a specific 
statement of its merits and defects, as well as of the bases for 
its superiority to the one below it, and its inferiority to the 
one above it, in the scale. In this way it is designed by spe- 
cific statements to make definite the merits which the scale 
undertakes to measure. Both the Harvard-Newton and the 
Hillegas scales are rendering service in standardizing and 
making definite the evaluation of English compositions. 

Possibly the best known educational tests are those de- 
signed by S. A. Courtis, and regularly known as the Courtis 
Standard Tests (Series B),^ in the four fundamental opera- 
tions of arithmetic. This series ''represents an attempt to 
secure definite objective standards for each of the four opera- 
tions with whole numbers — addition, subtraction, multiplica- 
tion, and division." The following are typical problems: 

1 Ballou, "Scales for the Measurement of Composition," Harvard- 
Newton Bulletin, No. 8, September, 1914. 

2 Series A, dealing with arithmetical correlations, and Series C, dealing 
with English work, are little used. The best description of the tests is 
in Courtis, " Manual of Instructions for Giving and Scoring the Courtis 
Standard Tests in the Three R's." 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 277 



927 75088824 8246 94)85352 

379 57406394 29 

837 
924 
no 
854 
965 
344 



In the test for each operation only a limited time is allowed 
the student, and the number of examples given is about 
twenty-four. Scores are taken for both accuracy and speed. 
The accuracy score is based upon the number of examples he 
can work correctly in the time allowance, which is too small 
for any student to work all. The score for speed is based upon 
the total number of examples attempted in the time allowed. 
Efficiency in the four fundamentals is thus measured in terms 
of both accuracy and speed, with the thought that by proper 
drill each be raised to its maximum without sacrificing a 
proper degree of the other in so doing. Both for the stand- 
ardizing of arithmetical achievement and for the detection 
and remedying of weaknesses in the teaching of arithmetic, 
the Courtis Tests have rendered notable service. 

In the field of secondary education, practically all of the 
tests so far devised have appeared within the past three or 
four years, and are necessarily tentative and almost untried, 
though of real service. To a considerable degree, the lack of 
standardized tests in secondary school subjects is doubtless 
due to the lack of agreement among teachers as to the edu- 
cational products toward which the various high school studies 
should strive. Professor W. S. Monroe has worked out a 
series of Standard Research Tests in Algebra, which were 
probably the pioneers in the field.^ We quote his description: 

^Monroe, De Voss, and Kelly, "Educational Tests and Measure- 
ments," p. 228. 



278 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

These tests consist of a series of six tests. Each of the first five 
tests is designed to measure the ability to do one of the operations 
occurring in the solution of simple equations. The tests are: 

Test I, dba (zizbx dz c), a,b, and c, being not greater than 9 
and not all positive. 

Test II, Clearing equations of fractions. 

Test III, Solving for x, a special case of division. 

Test IV, Transposition. 

Test V, Collecting terms, a special case of addition and sub- 
traction. 

Test VI, Simple equations to be solved. 

In giving the tests each pupil is provided with a printed copy of 
the exercises to be done. A definite time is allowed for each test. 
The ability of a pupil is measured by the number of exercises he does 
in a given time, and by the accuracy of his work. 

These tests can best be illustrated by specimen problems: 

Test I, Multiplication. 4(3:^ — 4) = 
Test II, Reduction to a Common Denominator. 
S -\- 6x 4X - 3 
12 15 

Test III, Division. 14X = 34 

Test IV, Transposition. 18 — 6:^ — 24 = ~ 14:^; + 42 
Test V, Collecting Terms. — 8x -{■ 40X - 3 — 8 — 32 

Test VI, Solving Equations. ^^^tJ _ ££±1= q 

15 21 

A somewhat similar series, which the author calls Prelimi- 
nary Algebra Tests, has been devised by C. Eben Stromquist. 
The following specimen problems from the five tests of the 
series will suffice to show the character of the series: 

Test I, Addition. Add: 

-{- 2:J[:2 — Qx -}- 8 

- 5x^ - SX - 6 

-\- iijc^ — 4x — y 



Test II, Subtraction. Subtract the second from the first: 
— 7^2 -f- ii<z — 18 
+ 8a2 4- 3^-23 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 279 
Test III, Multiplication. Multiply: 



Test IV, Division. Divide the second polynomial by the first, 
placing the quotient above the line over the dividend: 

^x^ — X — 6)5^^ + g^ — 2^x^ — 8:c + 24 

Test V, Factoring. Factor to simplest factors: 

4^2 _|_ ^ _ 23 = 

Another series is that devised by Henry G. Hotz, which 
he calls First Year Algebra Scales. Illustrative problems 
from the series are the following: 

Addition and Subtraction 
Carefully perform the operations as indicated. 

7^— ic + 6— 4 = 
3-2^ ^ + I I __ 

{X - 1)3 ^ {X - l)2 {X - l) ~ 

Multiplication and Division 

Carefully perform the operations as indicated. 
Reduce all answers to their simplest forms. 

a^ .{ - Za) '{ - 2a) = 

a;^ + 27 ^ 3^ + 9 ^ 
x^ ■{■ X — 12 ' X + ^ 

Equation and Formula 

Solve the following equations and formulas. 

10 — iiz = 4 — 8s 

6a; - 2 _ ^ ^ sx^ + 13 

a; + 3 ^ x^ - g 



280 



PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 



Graphs 
The following graph represents the temperature at various hours 
of a certain day: 



32 

28 
24 
















^^ 






















y 


r^ 




N 
















/ 










\ 




16 
12 

s' 

4 









A 


"^ 




















/ 




















: 









































































9 
A.M. 



10 



11 



12 



3 
P.M. 



How many degrees was it at twelve o'clock ? 

Find three pairs of values for x and y in the following equation and 
then draw the graph of 

a: +y = 5 



O 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 28 1 

Problems 

Do not work out the answer to the problem — merely indicate the 
answer or state the equation in each case. 

A man is m years old; how old was he r years ago ? 

A train leaves a station and travels at the rate of 40 miles an 
hour. Two hours later a second train leaves the same station and 
travels in the same direction at the rate of 55 miles an hour. Where 
will the second train pass the first? 

A fourth series of tests in first year algebra is that pro- 
posed by Rugg and Clark. The following are illustrative 
examples of the series: 



Test No. I. 


Collecting terms. 


7x + sy - 4x - sy 


Test No. 2. 


Substitution, li x = 2 


and y = 3, what does 


2x^ + 3^y = ? 




Test No. 3. 


Subtraction. From 2^+36—4 take 5a — 2b + 1 


Test No. 4. 


Simple equations. 


2X = 12 -\- 4X 


Test No. 5. 


Parentheses. 


3(4^ - 7) 


Test No. 6. 


Special products. 


(3^-4)=^ 


Test No. 7. 


Exponents. 


a^.a' 


Test No. 8. 


Factoring. 


^' - 5^ + 6 


Test No. 9. 


Clearing fractions. 
X -\- s X - 2 

4 5 




Test No. 10. 


Fractional equations. 

2X + 3 X - 2 

5 3 




Test No. II. 


Practical formuls. If a 


= b/c what does c = ? 


Test No. 12. 


Quadratic equations. 


^2 — 9:^ + 20 = 


Test No. 13. 


Simultaneous equations. 


2X + sy = s 
4X - sy = I 


Test No. 14. 


Radicals. 


VaW 



Supplementary Tests. 
Test No. 15. Graphs. 

Test No. 16. Quadratic equations 2x^ -\- ^x — i =0 

(irrational roots). 

Somewhat more extended than these is the series of 
Rogers Tests. These include (i) a ''Computation Test," 



282 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

with simple problems involving the principal operations up 
to simple fractional equations and simultaneous equations of 
the first degree; (2) an '* Interpolation Test," wherein the 
student is to insert the appropriate terms in series such as 
24 — 8 10 — 14; (3) a test for ^* Matching Nth Terms and 
Series," wherein the student is to select from a given list of 
formulas the appropriate one for each series in the test, such 
as the formula 4n — i for the given series 3 7 11 15 19 23 27; 
and (4) a "Reasoning Test," with problems like the following: 

M is younger than N f therefore K is L 

K is older than N ] 

M is older than L [ therefore N is L 

A test in physics has been devised by Professor Starch. 
His directions for the use of the test are the following: 

"The test may be given at the end of the year or the various 
sections may be given after the completion of the different topics. 

"Allow the pupils as much time as they reasonably need to com- 
plete as many of the statements or problems as they can. 

"Score the tests by determining the number of statements com- 
pleted or solved correctly. The number, not the percentage, of the 
statements finished correctly is the score." 

The following are illustrative problems or statements from the 
five sections of the test: 

Mechajiics 

The erg is the work done by a force of acting through a 

distance of 

The specific gravity of a wooden ball that floats two-thirds 
under water is 

Heat 
The number of work units that correspond to a heat unit is 

called 

Sound 
The frequency of vibration of a string varies inversely as 

Light 

A continuous spectrum composed of the colors from to 

is produced by passing light through a 

prism. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 283 

Magnetism and Electricity 
The instrument for the comparison of currents by means of 

is called a galvanometer. 

If a storage cell has an E.M.F. of two volts and furnishes a 

current of five amperes, its rate of expenditure of energy 

is watts. 

The distribution of problems is as follows. Mechanics 28, heat 8, 
sound 9, light 9, magnetism and electricity 21. 

Professor Starch has also given us a set of tests for the 
subjects of Latin, German, and French, dealing with vocab- 
ulary and reading in each. The form of test is the same for 
the three languages. The general instructions read as fol- 
lows: ''Do these tests according to the directions given and 
hand them in at the next time. Do not consult any diction- 
ary, vocabulary, or person." 

The vocabulary test is a double one, each part consisting 
of one hundred words of the foreign language alphabetically 
arranged, and on the same page is an alphabetical list of the 
one hundred English equivalents, numbered in order as they 
stand. The pupil is directed to place after each foreign lan- 
guage word the nmnber of its English equivalent. 

In the reading test the instructions are these: ^'Translate 
the following sentences. Write the translation under each 
sentence." Then follow thirty sentences, the first of which 
are very simple one-word sentences, and the rernainder of 
increasing difficulty and length. For the three languages, 
the thirtieth sentences, presumably representing the greatest 
degree of difficulty, are the following: "Rex erat ^neas nobis 
quo iustior alter, nee pietate fuit, nee bello major et armis." 
"Also gingen die zwei entgegen der sinkenden Sonne, die in 
Volken sich tief, gewitterdrohend verhuellte." "Du reste, 
il etait demeure aussi simple que le premier jour." 

"The vocabulary test is scored by ascertaining the num- 
ber of words designated correctly in each list. . . . The 
reading test is scored by determining the number of sentences 
translated entirely and correctly." 



284 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

A German-vocabulary test and a Latin-vocabulary test 
somewhat similar to those just described have been devised 
by Professor F. L. Clapp. The German- vocabulary test con- 
sists of three hundred German words, the Latin-vocabulary 
test of two hundred Latin words. The essential feature here 
is that the pupil does not select an appropriate meaning from 
a given list, but must write the English equivalent after each 
foreign language word, quite unassisted by any suggestion 
which the list of such equivalents might offer. Moreover, 
the words which constitute the list are not merely typical 
words chosen at random, but are those which occur most fre- 
quently in the texts usually read in secondary schools. 

Two other tests which Professor Clapp has devised are 
his German-construction test and his Latin-construction test. 
The instructions, which are nearly identical for the two tests, 
are as follows: 

I. For application. 

1. Allow minutes for the test. 

2. Emphasize the fact that the test is a construction test 

and the form of the word is the important con- 
sideration. 

3. Explain that a few words are omitted from the vocabu- 

lary because, if given, they would suggest the proper 
construction. 

4. Take the time of each student and have it recorded 

in the proper space. 

II. For scoring. 

1. The value of each sentence and of each word is indi- 

cated below. 

2. (German test.) Subtract two points for a wrong word 

order. 
(Latin test.) Give full value for constructions other 
than those below, if correct. 

3. (Recording of score.) 

4. To obtain the final score add the scores for the differ- 

ent sentences. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 285 

Illustrative sentences are the following: 

143 
Agricola puerum laudat. (8) 

4 3 3 

Domicilia movere cupiunt. (10) 

2 I I I 2 I 

Darf ich drei gute Bleistifte haben? (8) 

I 2 I 2 2 I I 

Die Stadte sind grosser als sie waren. (10) 

The tests for which the above sentences are the solution 
are these: 

Latin test: 

The farmer is praising the boy. 
(agricola) (laudo) (puer) 
.They want to move the houses, 
(cupio) (moveo) (domicilium) 
German test: 

May I have three good pencils? 
The cities are larger than they were. 

An accompanying vocabulary includes the following 
meanings: 

have — haben city — die Stadt 

three — drei be — sein 

good — gut large — grosz 

pencil — der Bleistift than — als 

Our enumeration of tests for secondary school studies 
must close with the mention of four which are still too re- 
cent to be more than tentative in character. Under the title 
of ''A Preliminary Study of the Measurement of Abilities in 
Geometry/' ^ Stockard and Bell describe a test designed ^'to 
call for information that is to be found in all standard text- 
books; to test for important and fundamental principles of 
geometry; to provide such a range of questions as to be repre- 
sentative of the whole field of elementary geometry, and in- 

1 Journal of Educational Psychology, December, 1916. 



286 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

elude memory facts, knowledge of content, organization of 
subject matter, and power to do ^originals'; and to confine 
the list to such dimensions that every question could be tried 
by the average high school pupil in a period of forty min- 
utes." The Rogers Tests, referred to on page 281, include 
also a Geometry Test, wherein a number of geometrical prop- 
ositions are to be proved, the proofs being based upon cer- 
tain geometrical facts supplied in the test, and no other facts 
being assumed or employed. 

Still more recent is a scale in ancient history, suggested 
by Leroy W. Sackett,^ and described as a test of ''ability to 
recall definite facts promptly'' in the field of study indicated. 

Finally, mention should be made of a test which, though 
applying to no specific secondary school subjects, is intended 
for high school students. This is the Kansas Silent Reading 
Test Number III, devised by F. J. Kelly, and is one of a 
series of three covering the whole range of pubKc school work 
above the two primary grades. The test consists of sixteen 
brief paragraphs, each closing with a question the answer to 
which involves an understanding of the thought of the para- 
graph. The aim of the test is to measure the ability of the 
pupil to comprehend what he reads. 

The above will give the reader some idea of the meaning 
of standardization of attainments in school instruction, its 
forms, and the methods of its application. It must be re- 
membered that standards or scales have been attempted in 
subjects other than those mentioned, and that details of deri- 
vation and application have been omitted in our treatment. 
Despite the small amount of work yet accompKshed in stand- 
ardization, especially in secondary education, an understand- 
ing of its general principles, its method and value, may be 
of much practical service to the progressive teacher on the 
lookout for anything whereby his efiiciency may be increased 
and his work made more significant. 

^"A Scale in Ancient History," by Leroy W. Sackett, in Journal of 
Educational Psychology, May, 1917. 



STANDARDS AND lilEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 287 

The Grading of Pupils' Work.— The present section has 
hitherto dealt with educational measurements wherein a zero 
grade was accessible as a basis for measurement of abihty. 
We observed, however, that in the case of the surveyor who 
did not know the sea level, a comparative evaluation is usually 
possible even though no zero grade or absolute standard is 
available. Even though we may not say how many units 
of ability an individual possesses, we can determine his rela- 
tive efficiency as compared with others of his class. While we 
thus lose the benefit of an absolute standard, we have in the 
performances of many individuals a relative standard which 
may serve our purpose. 

Investigation, as well as common experience, has shown 
that the distribution of abilities among the members of a 
group has really a considerable degree of constancy. Only 
a few members of the typical class are brilliant, only a few 
stupid. The proportion of brilliant, stupid, and mediocre 
seems to be fairly stable, and, in fact, is capable of approxima- 
tion in mathematical terms. The principle may be illus- 
trated as follows: We find in our school one hundred boys 
about twelve years of age. All of the hundred are lined up 
for a foot race across a field, and started simultaneously. 
While all are still running, we give a signal for each to halt 
where he is. We might then find some such result as this: 
I boy had run about 200 yards. 



2 boys 








190 


8 " 








1 80 


16 " 








170 


25 " 








160 


23 " 








150 


14 " 








140 


9 " 








130 


I boy 








120 


I " 








no 



For convenience we graph the results, letting the height 
of each column or rectangle represent the number of boys 
who have run the indicated number of vards. 



288 



PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

25 





1 


9 


14 


28 




16 


8 


3 






















1 






b^ 


^-no-" 


"-I^ 


■130 


140 


150 


160 


170 


180 


190 


200 yds. 



Figure i. — Graph of normal class 

The fact that the great majority of the boys come near 
the middle of the scale of ability merely accords with a sci- 
entific principle. Scientific study has shown that in a normial 
representative group, if there is no influence to affect the 
composition of the group, the distribution of abilities in other 
fields besides speed tends toward a constant relationship. 
We are told that in a normal class in school this distribution 
of intellectual ability necessarily holds the same as elsewhere. 
Various formulations of such a class have been proposed, 
though the scientific principle involved is a highly complex 
one, and its applications have not yet been fully worked out. 
The following is a typical formulation for the distribution in 
a normal class: 

4% are of high ability. 
21% are of good ability. 
50% are of fair ability. 
21% are of poor ability. 

4% are of very poor ability. 



While some variability exists in the number of divisions and 
in the corresponding size of each, we are told that the classi- 
fication must be such that approximately half of the class 
belong to a group of mediocre ability, with one-fourth of the 
class rated higher, one-fourth lower than this mediocre group. 
An attempt has been made to apply this principle to the 
grading of students in school and college classes. Assuming 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 289 

that the classes are normal and that each student's work is 
representative of his ability, we are told that at the end of a 
course^ we should grade the best four per cent of the class in 
the highest group, the next twenty-one per cent in the next 
group, the next fifty per cent in the middle group, the next 
twenty-one per cent in the next lower group, and the lowest 
four per cent in the lowest group. Possibly these groups 
might be thought of as ''excellent," ''good," "fair," "poor," 
and "very poor" respectively, provided the name thus as- 
signed does not affect the judgment of the teacher in the dis- 
tribution of the grades. Or, using letters to represent the 
five groups of merit, we would give four per cent of our class 
a grade of "A," twenty-one per cent "B," fifty per cent "C," 
twenty-one per cent "D," and four per cent "E." Had we 
chosen to vary the number of levels into which to divide the 
class, our percentage would naturally be different, although 
the same principle would govern. 

The superiority of this system of grading the work of stu- 
dents over an assumed absolute basis, such as the percentage 
rating, is in several respects both theoretical and practical. 
In the first place, the use of a percentage system implies an 
absolute standard of evaluation, with both a zero and a per- 
fection grade known. As a matter of fact, neither of the 
latter is available. One hundred per cent cannot represent 
perfect attainment either for class work or for examination. 
That a student's performance of every task and every possi- 
bility of learning has been complete every moment of the 
term or year is absurd and, indeed, nobody knows what such 
perfection would be. As an examination grade, perfection 
is not possible unless the test be so exhaustive and difficult 
that more could not have been accomplished. The student 
who requires the entire period to produce a "perfect" paper 
has not done as creditable a piece of work as the one who fin- 
ished an equally good paper long before the closing bell rang. 
On the other hand, the zero quality of work is inconceivable 
1 This refers only to final grades, and not to daily class grades. 



290 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

for any hon-fiade member of the class. Thus, the impossi- 
bility of an absolute standard or scale precludes percentage 
grading as a reliable index of student attainment. 

The practical objections to ranking students on a per- 
centage basis are well known. The absurdity of saying that 
one student has done one ninety-fourth better, or two eighty- 
seconds poorer, work than his fellow has appealed to every 
conscientious teacher, who has often sympathized with the 
pupil's revolt at the injustice resulting from the attempt at 
such discrimination. A serious weakness in the instruction 
also may be attributed to the attempt at absolute evaluation 
of students' work in the classroom or examination. This is 
the unsystematic and widely varying grading of students on 
the part of teachers whose ideas of relative values are differ- 
ent. Some teachers, more kind than conscientious, are liberal 
with high grades. Others, thinking to maintain high scho- 
lastic standards, give many low grades. Still others, feeling 
uncertain of the quality of work done, give nearly all students 
medium grades, with the thought that such grades cannot be 
far wrong in any case. The distribution of grades on the 
system proposed, often referred to as "scientific grading," is 
designed to meet the objections raised against any attempt 
at absolute grading by either letters or percentages. A con- 
siderable number of educational institutions, especially col- 
leges and universities, have adopted the system, and report 
highly beneficial results. 

However, this scientific distribution of grades has its 
limitations as well as its merits, and is not universally ac- 
cepted as the solution of the grading problem. Let us re- 
vert to the illustration of the schoolboys in the foot race. It 
is evident that if before the start all the boys who had ever 
won a foot race before were debarred, the distribution of re- 
sults would have been different. Presumably the graph on 
page 288 would have been greatly altered at the right. The 
elimination might have removed the three best runners, and 
most or all of the 180-yard class, though without much effect 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 291 



Upon the rest of the group. Or suppose that part of the 
younger boys had just been playing vigorously and were 
fatigued. Then the left part of the graph would have been 
extended to the left, since the performance of that group 
would be greatly reduced. The result in either case, or other 
cases easily imagined, would no longer follow the normal dis- 
tribution, due to the influence of an outside disturbing factor. 
Our specification that the group be typical would not be met. 
In the distribution of class grades the same principle would 
apply. The division of a class into sections on the basis of 
age or proficiency, or a deficiency of preHminary training on 
the part of a considerable number of pupils, would greatly 
alter the distribution of abilities, giving us graphs similar to 
the following: 



Figure 2. — Class divided in two 
sections: Section II, with young- 
er or less able students 



Figure 3. — Class divided in two 
sections: Section I, with older 
or abler students 



Figure 4. — Class with a considerable number of students deficient in 
preliminary training 



292 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Or we might have a class so small that all of the various 
grades camiot be adequately represented, as, for example, 
with a class of ten pupils. It is evident that the distribu- 
tion can be strictly applied only when the class is normal 
and of considerable size. The principle of distribution of 
grades is thoroughly sound, but must be applied rationally 
and discriminatingly. 

Anything more than this rapid survey of some of the 
standardization already attempted would be inappropriate 
for this text. Full expositions would require more space, 
and are readily available elsewhere. Moreover, the problem 
of standardization is receiving much attention in the educa- 
tional world, and it is reasonable to expect that before this 
account reaches the hand of the reader much of the work 
already done will have been reconstructed and helpful stand- 
ards formulated in fields not yet provided for, 

4. The Practical Value of Standardization and 
Measurement in Secondary Instruction 

The Teacher's Use of Measurement. — Do standards in 
education represent degrees of excellence to which the pupil 
is expected to attain? Or are they degrees of excellence by 
means of which students' work can be evaluated? The dis- 
cussion in the preceding section implies a negative answer to 
the former question, to the latter an affirmative, but with 
reservations. The only standard which could be used for all 
to seek to attain would necessarily be perfection, but perfec- 
tion is, from the nature of the case, unattainable. On the 
other hand, an absolute standard must represent a series of 
grades of excellence such that any piece of work may be 
evaluated by finding it equal to some known value in the 
established scale. 

We saw, further, that standards are essential for the ac- 
curate and scientific measurement of educational products. 
In the absence of such standards, however, the teacher need 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 293 

not lose all of the value to be derived from educational mea- 
surement. Progressive teaching is that which is permeated 
by a consciousness of its aims and a constant search for the 
best means for their realization. The teacher must, therefore, 
be an experimenter, employing all means for the improvement 
of his instruction, even though these means fall short of per- 
fection, and devising applications and extensions of even the 
inadequate means in his quest for greater efficiency. The 
standards and measurements we have treated in this chapter 
are not perfected but, on the contrary, are only partially suc- 
cessful. However, in the hands of the progressive instructor, 
some of them at least may be made to render valuable service 
in the improvement of teaching and the extension of high 
ideals of scholarship. Some suggestions on the practical ap- 
plication of a few of the standards and measurements we 
have studied may prove of profit to the high school teacher. 
Of the absolute standards, that for handwriting is of value 
to the secondary school teacher chiefly as suggestive of method 
of procedure. The Courtis Standard Tests are intended pri- 
marily for elementary education, although they may well be 
employed in the arithmetical work of the junior high school. 
The Hillegas Test aspires to serve in secondary as well as 
elementary education, but the criticism we have noted is 
even more applicable to its use in high school work than in 
the lower grades. The more advanced the work the more 
complex, and hence the more variant, will be the judging 
of compositions of students. The Harvard-Newton Scale ap- 
pears more workable as a standard, especially for the eighth 
grade work, and may with profit be extended and employed 
in the other grades of the high school. However, as a means 
of comparing the work of any class with the typical work of 
many other similar classes, the data as yet secured are scarcely 
adequate for anything like standardization. The tests for 
algebra, geometry, physics, foreign languages, and history 
are, of course, designed specifically for secondary education. 
Undoubtedly the tests in the field of algebra have been de- 



294 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

veloped much beyond those of the other fields, and are based 
more clearly upon established norms of what the study should 
produce. Here, more than in the other studies, the element 
of skill is involved, and less of thought power and informa- 
tion — a circumstance which renders algebra far more amena- 
ble to measurement. The tests in secondary education, the 
best known of which have been briefly described in the pre- 
ceding section, are as yet too new to have been thoroughly 
tried out, but an intelligent use of them, with due recogni- 
tion of their limitation, can scarcely fail to give the teacher 
a better knowledge of what his pupils are doing and what 
they need, both individually and collectively. 

In the absence of fully established standards for evalua- 
tion, the progressive teacher need not idly wait for the de- 
ficiency to be supplied. Not as accurate scientific investiga- 
tion, to be sure, but for a better understanding of his own 
work, any trained high school teacher ought to be able to de- 
vise for himself tests whereby the profit derivable from the 
standardization is in some degree attainable for him. In the 
formulation of such a test, clearly the first thing to do is to 
determine just which of the five aims of instruction figure the 
most prominently in his subject. If his field be geometry, 
for example, he may decide to test for the thought power of 
his pupils. Since he must, so far as possible, isolate the fac- 
tor for which he is testing, he will endeavor to formulate such 
a test that the other factors (knowledge, appreciation, effi- 
ciency in expression and application, and permanency) are 
as nearly as possible eliminated. This does not mean that 
the test will involve none of these four factors, but rather that 
in so far as they are involved their mastery sufficient for the 
test is assured at the outset, so that no failure in one of them 
can prevent the free exercise of the thought power which is 
to be tested. Thus, any definitions, modes of mathematical 
expression, and the like, must first be made sure of as being 
in the student's possession. Then the test can be so formu- 
lated that only thought power functions in the result. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 295 

Similar methods may be employed in other fields of study, 
and in testing for other educational products. Tests for 
memory are, doubtless, easy to devise. The measuring of 
efficiency in expression or in application, and of the perma- 
nency of acquired experience is also possible. The testing for 
appreciation has always been a puzzling problem for the 
teacher^ and the writer is indisposed to tell how it can be 
done. At best, the testing must be indirect, and applied to 
the somewhat remote and unreliable products. Since it is 
evident that what is not felt cannot be expressed, tlie ex- 
pression by the pupil of what he has felt is doubtless the most 
available index of the feehng. Here, as in the illustration 
from geometry, in the preceding paragraph, care must be 
taken that defective power of expression is not mistaken for 
lack of content for expression. The teacher should therefore 
endeavor to determine the pupil's abiHty to express himself 
before the test for appreciation is undertaken. Another form 
of test, from which expression is eliminated, is that of calling 
for a comparative evaluation of specimens of aesthetic material. 
Here, however, the fact that different kinds of material have 
not the same appeal for different individuals renders inade- 
quate any test save a very extended one with widely different 
types of content. 

However, the formulation of a test for a given factor does 
not consist alone in the eHmination of all other factors. The 
test must actually hit the thing sought for. Obviously, it 
must be adapted to the experience and training of the student. 
This will necessitate careful study and planning, extended 
observation, and some experimentation. The teacher whose 
colleagues, especially in the same field of study, are inter- 
ested in problems of experiment and investigation, can natu- 
rally profit greatly from conference and criticism. The prob- 
lem is so complex and many-sided that the joint product of 
many minds is presumably better than that of one. 

The real value of these educational measurements lies in 
their appKcation to the work of teaching. The forms of ap- 



296 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

plication we enumerated early in the chapter. These are 
(i) the determination of the students' present educational 
status, as a basis of comparison with their status at an earlier 
period, or with the work of other groups; (2) the experimental 
investigation of the relative merits of different methods of in- 
struction, and (3) the discovery of the special capacities and 
needs of individuals. Some suggestion on the method of util- 
izing the tests for each of these purposes may be of service. 

Determination of Class Achievement. — In the first of 
the three applications mentioned, where the aim is com- 
parison, the prime essential is uniformity of both content and 
conditions. It should be noted that in the standard tests 
there is no difference in content for the various ages of the 
pupils. The fourth grader and the eighth grader are set 
exactly the same problems, and the grading is based only 
upon the degree of excellence of the performance. For the 
measuring of the progress made by a class during a semester 
of study, therefore, it is essential that the tests given at the 
beginning and end of the semester represent exactly the same 
content and difficulty, and, if possible, the questions should 
be the same in both cases. Identity of questions, however, 
may not in some cases represent identity in test, since the 
practice or memory from the first may render the second easier. 
To meet this difficulty, the Courtis Tests include more than 
one set of questions, representing the same thought processes, 
but with somewhat different details of content, so that a 
student would naturally earn the same score whichever of 
the alternative test questions are used. 

When a comparison is to be made between different 
classes or schools, naturally the tests should be made iden- 
tical, although in their formulation care should be taken that 
the questions mean the same for all the groups examined. In 
the high school even more than the grades teachers differ in 
the use of terms, so that a question clear enough to one class 
may be puzzling to a similar class under another instructor. 

The conditions for conducting the tests should also be 



J 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 297 

the same. Such elements as fatigue, strangeness of environ- 
ment, distraction of attention, or misconception of the sig- 
nificance of the test will necessarily affect the students' per- 
formance. The necessary explanations to the class of the 
method of procedure and meaning of the questions are also 
liable to be differently given by different examiners. To 
secure uniformity in these points it is essential that the con- 
ditions of the different tests receive careful attention and, if 
convenient, the tests should be conducted by a single ex-, 
aminer. It need scarcely be added that the system of scor- 
ing results must be uniform and clearly understood. 

Experimental Evaluation of Methods of Instruction. — 
The second form of application of measurement is for the 
comparing of different methods of instruction in order to 
determine their relative merit. Here, too, as in all com- 
parison, uniformity of conditions is essential. Pedagogically 
as well as psychologically comparison involves the identity of 
all the factors in the things compared, save the one factor 
which is being investigated. In the comparative study of 
methods the teacher is the experimenter, and must observe 
the requirements of experimental procedure. A study made 
a few years ago in the University of Illinois will serve as an 
illustration.! It was desired to determine whether zoology, 
when taught with constant reference to its economic applica- 
tions, would not lead to better mastery of the subject than 
when taught with the usual academic interest as the basis of 
appeal. In order to secure identity of conditions the class 
was divided into two sections, on a basis in which scholastic 
ability and interest were not involved. The two classes were 
equal, in so far as could be determined, and were given the 
same instructor, the same time, and the same conditions of 
work. Only the method of instruction was different, in that 
the economic applications were stressed in the one case, and 
not in the other. At the end of the course the examination 

^ Already referred to on p. 147. For a description of the experiment, 
see article in the Jotirnal of Educational Psychology, vol. I, p. 321. 



298 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

questions prepared for the non-economic section were made 
the basis for testing the economic sections as well, since it 
was desired to find out whether the economic treatment would 
not produce a better knowledge of the material which formed 
the basis of the non-economic treatment. 

In experimentation of this kind it may not always be 
possible or necessary to divide classes into sections for com- 
parison. When it is desired to employ the test for a specific 
unit of subject matter, the teacher may conduct the test as 
a comparison of classes taught in successive years. Here, 
however, he must be careful to secure as great similarity of 
conditions as possible, including the interests and ability of 
the classes themselves, and for reliability of conclusions the 
teacher should not depend too much upon his memory, but 
should keep a faithful and detailed record of procedure and 
results. This process of comparison may involve the testing 
of classes for several years before final conclusions can be 
drawn. The delay is not fatal, however, and the chances are 
that in the course of the testing the teacher will have learned 
from his experimentation many unanticipated lessons of value 
even equal to that of the test itself, due to the closer attention 
and care given to the instruction. 

In the testing of methods the personal factor is likely to 
play an important part. Uniformity of procedure in a test 
of pupils' ability is far more easy to secure than in a test of 
methods of instruction, for in the latter the procedure is less 
exact and not only permits but demands a great degree of 
adaptation to the pupils' response. The element of enthu- 
siasm is also important. It is not easy for a teacher to em- 
ploy two different methods with the same degree of confidence 
and zeal. The one he has always employed may inspire an 
attitude of confidence; the new one may appeal because of 
its freshness and promise. Really, the comparison must be 
made between the two methods with each at its best, and the 
teacher must inject his best self into each. It is because of 
this personal element in teaching that comparisons of method 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 299 

are often valid for the experimenter only, although of sugges- 
tive value to others. The inference naturally follows that the 
progressive teacher will be both an observer of others' experi- 
ments and an experimenter for himself. 

Discovery of Individual Needs. — As a means for the dis- 
covery of students' individual 'capacities and needs, the 
special test must begin where the regular instruction leaves off. 
The daily work of the classroom is the first and, possibly, the 
best instrument for the observation of individual variations. 
Each recitation, each written exercise, each class test and ex- 
amination should serve somewhat to disclose to the teacher 
what each pupil is doing, can do, and should do. The func- 
tion of the special test such as we have been considering is 
to complete the observation of the regular instruction. When 
the class work gives inadequate returns, the teacher's next 
problem is a diagnosis of the difficulty, and for this purpose 
special tests may be devised and employed. Also, the giving 
of standard tests to whole groups or classes should show in a 
more specific way the needs of individual students. Unfortu- 
nately recitation, examination, and test are too often used 
solely for the discovery of how much the student can do, 
rather than what he can do. 

The test for the discovery of individual students' needs is 
thus usually the group test, with individual variations noted 
in the interpretation of results. Even when individually ad- 
ministered, the test is not essentially different in character 
from that for a group. There is needed, therefore, no further 
consideration of form or method than that already given for 
group tests. 

Ultimate Function of Testing. — The measurement of stu- 
dent ability serves a higher purpose than merely the securing 
of information. In each of the aims we have been discussing 
the information secured was for the sake of improvement of 
instruction. The measurement of students' progress should 
show the teacher whether his class is really making the ad- 
vancement which might reasonably be expected. Time and 



300 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

effort expended are really far from indicative of work accom- 
plished. The fact that a class have worked faithfully for a 
year on ancient history is no proof that they have done a 
year's work, and many a teacher would be greatly disappointed 
were he to know how little had really been accomplished in 
his class. The test, whatever its form, should serve to show 
just wherein his work is succeeding, wherein it needs recon- 
struction, and possibly will suggest the character of such re- 
construction or of some experimental investigation for the 
discovery of better method. Kinds of error, therefore, and 
not scores alone should be scrutinized in testing. 

As a basis for the comparison of work between groups or 
schools, the standard test, and even the improvised test, should 
assist the teacher in determining whether his class is making 
the progress that might reasonably be expected. In some of 
the elementary subjects what might be called minimal stand- 
ards have been formulated, by averaging the scores of large 
numbers of children in various schools through such tests as 
the Courtis Tests, by a consensus of opinion on the part of 
educators and educated, by a study of the demands upon 
knowledge made by the experience of adult life, and in other 
ways.^ In so far as these deal with subjects taught in the 
high school, they may with great profit be made the basis of 
comparison by the teacher for the checking up of his own 
work and the discovery of shortcomings. Where such stand- 
a,rds have not yet been determined, and this includes prac- 
tically all of high school work, improvised tests such as have 
been mentioned before may be of service in the formulation 
of provisional or working standards. While the inferences 
resulting from the employment of such tests may not be con- 
clusive, the teacher can make them stimulating and sugges- 
tive in his quest for weaknesses in his method. The teacher 
whose classes make a poor showing can at least investigate 
the methods of the teacher whose showing is better. Com- 

^ Cj. "Fourteenth and Sixteenth Year Books of the National Society 
for the Study of Education." 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 3OI 

parison of results leading to comparison of methods is essential 
to professional advancement, and might with profit displace 
much of the content of the typical teachers' institute and 
association meeting. 

We have said that the results of these tests, even of those 
most generally accredited, are not necessarily conclusive. 
The teacher must not let his success in meeting the standard 
blind him to the fact that the standards are as yet not fully 
established, nor do they cover all of the educational aims. 
He should take them for what they are, and participate in 
the work of their improvement. He should realize that for 
some of the most important educational aims no test has yet 
been devised, and that success in the measurable features 
may have resulted from formal drill at the cost of thought 
and feeling. He must, in other words, be a student of edu- 
cational aims, and a critic of educational tests in the light of 
these aims. 

The employment of the results of measurement in dealing 
with individual variations and needs requires no further con- 
sideration. The discussion of individual instruction in 
Chapter XV will, we trust, suggest to the reader how the 
work of instruction may take account of individual variations 
and needs. 

The Grading of Pupils. — In the preceding section atten- 
tion was called to the inadequacy of any attempt at absolute 
grading of students' attainments for a year or term. In place 
of the percentage basis of ranking, recourse was had to the 
rating of students by their relative attainments in the group, 
and a system of grading was proposed based upon the normal 
distribution of abilities in a t3^ical class. Objection was 
made, however, that not all classes are typical, and that vari- 
ous influences may work to interfere mth the proposed 
distribution of grades. With the percentage system of 
grading discredited, and the grade distribution found to be 
limited in its use, the teacher justly asks for positive sug- 
gestions. 



302 PKINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

With the large class, the system of grade distribution is 
applicable, and is proving its merit. Whether the division 
be one of five groups or ranks, as in the illustration, or of 
more or less, is not vital so long as the relative size of the 
groups is in harmony with the law of the normal distribution 
of abilities. That more than six groups would needlessly in- 
crease the nicety of discrimination is evident. On the other 
hand, less than four groups would throw into one class indi- 
viduals of such wide difference of merit as to largely nullify 
the aim of the grading. Practical experience points to the 
five-level grouping as the most satisfactory. 

With the small class the problem is less simple. Not 
merely does the smallness of the class preclude a group divi- 
sion in the proportion advocated, but its smallness raises the 
presumption that some special influence is affecting the size 
of the class, and hence rendering it non-typical. In such case 
the teacher has recourse to two methods of grading which 
will tend toward reasonably accurate results, especially if 
used jointly. In the first place, he may regard all his pupils 
of several successive classes in the subject as constituting one 
large class, and then test the grades assigned in them to see 
if their distribution has corresponded to that accepted as the 
standard. 

The second procedure is more complicated, but yields 
more immediate results, and in the case of small classes has 
been found quite practicable. Here the teacher associates 
with each grade or letter the quality of work which he thinks 
it should represent, and assigns the grades to the students 
accordingly. In so doing, however, he must take account of 
the normal size of each group; that the division is into not 
equal but very unequal groups, with the middle group very 
much the largest. His next step is to check up his standard 
of evaluation, and for the purpose uses the grades assigned 
the same students by instructors in other subjects. If com- 
parison shows, on the whole, a close similarity between his own 
grades and the average of those given the same student by 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 303 

other instructors, the comparison being made for each stu- 
dent rather than for the average of all students, it is reason- 
able to infer that his grading is, on the whole, neither too 
lenient nor too severe. He should further observe the dis- 
tribution of his grades. Let us suppose that a student re- 
ceives the following grades: Latin, B; history, A; mathe- 
matics, B; Enghsh, C. Since his average is B, we might 
call his history grade a relatively high grade, and his English 
grade a low one. It is evident that a teacher who in the long 
run shows a marked tendency to give many such relatively 
high or low grades has an inadequate conception of what 
should be expected of students. The relation may possibly 
be better understood if expressed thus: Too many low grades 
implies too high a standard for '^poor"; the teacher is calling 
work poor which is of fair quality. Too few low grades im- 
plies too low a standard for "poor"; the teacher is calling 
work fair which is of poor quality. Too many high grades 
implies too low a standard for "good"; the teacher is calling 
work good which is of fair quality. Too few high grades im- 
plies too high a standard for ^'good"; the teacher is calling 
work fair which is of good quality. A combination of too 
few low grades and too few high grades impKes a disposition 
to use the medium grade as a catch-all for cases of whose 
evaluation he is in doubt. A combination of too many low 
grades and too many high grades implies a tendency toward 
extreme judgments, regarding as very good what appeals to 
him favorably, and as very poor whatever is not well up to 
the average. 

The fundamental principle in the above is, of course, the 
superiority of the judgment of many teachers over that of 
one. The objection will doubtless be raised that students 
vary greatly in the quality of work done in different subjects, 
doing better in subjects which interest them, or in which the 
instructor is more insistent on creditable work. That such 
tendency exists is unquestionable; that there is really less of 
it in a well- administered school than is often imagined can 



304 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

be seen by a study of students' grades.^ The reply to the 
objection is that there are as many upward as downward 
variations of this sort, thus tending to offset each other, and 
especially that only well-defined and obvious tendencies are 
considered. The seeming complexity of the system is largely 
removed by an understanding of the principle which deter- 
mines the inference. 

An annual or semi-annual comparison of grades by the 
system just described, especially when checked up by a grade 
distribution jointly for several successive classes, will furnish 
the instructor with a reasonably accurate analysis of the 
character and degree of his errors in the grading of students^ 
work. At its best the system is subject to several errors of 
method; but at its worst it gives much needed and service- 
able results, and is probably the best that has been devised 
for small classes. 

It not infrequently happens that a teacher, in distributing 
his grades according to the principle we have discussed, can- 
not avoid the conviction that a real injustice is being done 
thereby. In other words, he feels that for the class in ques- 
tion the graph of the grades should not follow the normal 
form, but should indicate a variation similar to that of the 
non-t3^ical groups of our foot-race illustration.^ Such a 
conviction should be followed up by a discovery of the influ- 
ences which cause the variation (known to statisticians as 
the "skew'^ in the graph). Possibly a lack of adequate train- 
ing before entering the class, an attitude of indifference, or a 
lack of clarity in the instruction may have caused a consid- 
erable number of the students to do work inferior to that 
which their natural ability would ordinarily produce. Such 
influences would result in an excessive proportion o£ poor 
students, giving the graph a skew to the left, as in Figure 5. 

"^ Cf. doctorate dissertation by D. E. Weglein on "The Correlation 
Between the High School Student's Grades" (1916). Also, "Correlation 
Among Abilities in School Studies," by D. Starch, in Journal of Educa- 
tional Psychology, vol. IV, p. 415. 

2 Cf. p. 290. 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 305 




Figure 5. — Graph of class with many poor students 

If the condition is extreme, it may even cause a cleavage 
of the class into widely divergent groups, with a graph as in 
Figure 6. 



Figure 6. — Graph of a class with a considerable number of very poor 
students, the rest being of normal ability 

On the other hand, a preponderance of high grades, giv- 
ing the graph a skew to the right, might indicate that in some 
way the class represented a select membership, due to the 
weaker pupils having in some way been eliminated before 
entering the class. It might also be traced to unusually 
skilful instruction, whereby students are inspired to excep- 
tional zeal. Unfortunately, the explanation most often to 
be found is a leniency in grading. 

Thus the use of relative evaluation of student achieve- 
ments, grading them according to their rank in the class, 
may prove helpful by pointing out the presence of abnormal 
or undesirable influences upon the work of the class. It 
seems superfluous to add that it is the business of the teacher 
to study and interpret his grades, to trace out the influences- 
which are affecting the work of the class, and to strive to 
improve his instruction by the eKmination of the negative, 
the cultivation of the positive, influences. 



306 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

5. Summary 

Teaching efficiency demands that the present self-con- 
fident non-critical procedure shall give place to a thorough 
testing of instruction by a measurement of its products. A 
system of standardization and measurement would facilitate 
the measuring of students' progress, the comparison of the 
work of different classes or schools, the experimental investi- 
gation of the relative merits of different methods of teaching, 
and the discovery of individual needs and differences. 

The essentials of an educational standard are five: objec- 
tivity, definiteness, absoluteness, inclusiveness, and practica- 
bility. Only that can be accurately measured which admits 
of an applicable standard, and in which the characteristic to 
be studied is actually knowable, and its zero degree can be 
determined. The degree to which measurement can be ap- 
plied to knowledge, thought power, appreciation, efficiency, 
and permanency varies greatly in the different cases, due in 
part to the impossibility of their isolation for study. 

There are in practice two types of measurement: that 
with exact measurement based upon an absolute standard, 
and that with relative evaluations, based upon the com- 
parative ranking of the individual in a group. Of the first 
type are such as the Thomdike Scale in handwriting, the 
Hillegas Scale in English composition, and the Courtis Tests. 
The second type includes the distribution of grades accord- 
ing to the law of distribution of abilities. The latter plan 
insures a more just and objective basis for evaluation, but is 
strictly valid only with normal groups. 

The standard tests already devised should prove of value 
to the secondary school teacher as suggestive of methods of 
investigation of his own. Testing for any of the products of 
instruction, he must endeavor to isolate the factor investi- 
gated. In comparative measurements the form and condi- 
tions of the test must be clear and uniform. The results of 
the measurements should show the character and needs of 



STANDARDS AND MEASUREMENTS IN INSTRUCTION 307 

the instruction being offered, and should suggest the form of 
its improvement. In the case of the distribution of students' 
grades where the classes are small, comparison should be 
made with the grades of other instructors to disclose ten- 
dencies toward misjudgment of values, and the grades of 
several consecutive years should correspond to the general 
principle of grade distribution. Tendencies of classes to de- 
viate from the normal distribution of abilities should lead the 
teacher to the discovery and correction of any unfortunate 
influences causing such deviation. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

1. Some teachers object strongly to the application of the princi- 
ple of standardization in teaching. Suggest reasons (sound and un- 
sound) for such objection, 

2. Discuss the advisability and methods of having pupils keep 
records and graphs of their own achievements. 

3. Find out what you can of each of the tests suggested, and dis- 
cuss the degree to which they meet the five requirements of a good 
measurement scale. 

4. Of the five instruction aims, which are measured by each of 
the tests described? In each of the tests, what instruction aims are 
ignored or slighted which you consider fundamental in the subject 
in question? 

5. In each of the following studies, for what educational products 
would you undertake to measure, were you to devise tests for those 
studies: civics? Latin or Spanish prose composition? manual train- 
ing? English literature? botany? Selecting one of these studies, tell 
how you would go about the formulation of a test for it. If you think 
any of them incapable of measurement, justify your position. 

6. A class of about thirty pupils had a normal distribution in its 
membership. To it there were added about twelve pupils, who were 
the best members from another class of about thirty-six pupils in the 
same work, and also of normal distribution. Plot a graph which might 
represent the distribution in the resultant class. 

7. The following grades were given in a certain (hypothetical) 
high school. For convenience of study it is assumed that there are 
eight instructors and twenty pupils, and that each pupil carries five 
studies. Criticise the grades of each instructor, from each of the 



3o8 



PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 



points of view treated in the text. A, B, C, and D are "passing 
grades." 



PUPIL 



Instructor 123456789 io 

English B C B B C C D C F A 

Mathematics C C CA B B C C 

Latin A B B C CD 

Spanish CA AB C B A 

History F CAB D 

Physical Science CD C B B 

Biological Science C C B 

Agriculture A B B A B A 

Instructor ii 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

English BCCBFDDCDD 

Mathematics B AF C C C B B B 

Latin B F C D A C 

Spanish C BC B B C 

History D C A C F 

Physical Science C DB B 

Biological Science C B C BBD 

Agriculture A B B B 



SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Birch, "Standard Tests and Scales of Measurement," in Psychological 

Clinic, April 15, 1916. 
Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. XXII. 
Dearborn, "The Misuse of Standard Tests in Education," in School 

and Society, April i, 191 6. 
Starch, "Educational Measurements," especially chap. Ill, 
Starch, "Educational Psychology," chap. XXII. 
Monroe, DeVoss, and Kelly, "Educational Tests and Measurements," 

chap. VII. 



(; 



CHAPTER XV 

INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS IN 
SECONDARY INSTRUCTION 

I. Individual Instruction 

Meaning. — With the introduction of class instruction in 
the schools, there came the impression that individual in- 
struction was thereby excluded. Class teaching came to be 
regarded as mass teaching, and the expression ^'lock-step in 
education'^ has been coined to describe the procedure in 
which the individual is submerged in the whole. To-day we 
are coming to see that individual instruction is not at all an- 
tagonistic to class instruction, for the two may be harmoni- 
ously employed in the same activity. Instruction is individual 
when it is specifically intended for and adapted to indi- 
vidual students, even though two or twenty individuals are 
being thus instructed simultaneously. Moreover, the differ- 
ence in needs between different students, although real, is 
actually not as wide as is sometimes supposed, and the ex- 
perienced teacher well knows that rarely indeed does the 
treatment of difficulties raised by individuals fail to assist 
other members of the class. Efficiency in instruction, as 
elsewhere, requires that effort expended shall serve as wide a 
group as possible, and the teacher should seek to utilize the 
assistance rendered an individual, so that similar difficulties 
on the part of other students may thereby be brought to con- 
sciousness and solution. Individuality in instruction is thus 
a matter of spirit and character rather than of form. 

The basis for individual instruction is naturally to be 
found in the differences between the individuals to be taught; 
and upon the recognition of individual differences of students, 

■309 



3IO PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

whether hereditary or due to environment, depends largely 
the development of personality through the work of the 
school. The attention accorded to-day to vocational guidance 
is but one form of this recognition in a particular sphere, and 
the part played by individual differences in the entire educa- 
tional activity demands that they be given a large place in 
teaching. 

Environmental Differences. — Differences due to environ- 
ment may be taken to include those resulting from the entire 
experience and training of the child from his earliest years. 
Naturally these tend to color all his learning and feeling. 
His imagery, his conception, his application of principles, his 
appreciation, and even his reason will be largely determined 
by them. In Chapter VI it was pointed out that one of the 
functions of the recitation mode of instruction is to secure a 
certain degree of agreement in the apperceptive mass of the 
various members of the class, in order that the development 
of the new lesson may have a definite basis upon which to 
build. This was but another way of saying that the indi- 
vidual differences due to environment should be so far re- 
duced as to facilitate the work of instruction. However, this 
must by all means be interpreted not as a levelling-down proc- 
ess but as a levelling-up. The phases of experience upon 
which the new material is to be developed must in practically 
all cases be supplemented and corrected, through the medium 
of class discussion incident to the recitation procedure. 

However, it is to the positive rather than the negative 
treatment of differences that the attention of the teacher 
most needs to be drawn. Because no two environments are 
identical, and no two persons similarly disposed toward en- 
vironment, the experience of each child contains elements 
which others lack, and which may be utilized as his personal 
contribution to the work of the classroom. The writer once 
visited, at Tuskegee Institute, a class exercise in which each 
individual student reported to the class upon something 
which he had investigated in the learning of his trade. One 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 3 II 

told how he had secured by selective cultivation a profitable 
variety of corn, another reported upon his manufacture of an 
anvil, a third upon her learning of the trimming of hats. In a 
similar way, though with different content, the geometry stu- 
dent in the high school may report upon a new demonstra- 
tion, the student in history may tell of some book throwing 
Hght upon the problem under discussion, jjid„Uie.. literature 
student may contribute his personal interpretation of a stanza 
or paragraph. Apart from the social value from such contri- 
butions by the pupil, there is a real profit in the develop- 
ment of individual capacity through the recognition and use 
of his particular experience. The value appears less in the 
material contributed than in the encouragement and training 
resulting from its recognition and employment. 

Hereditary Differences. — Individual differences due mainly 
to heredity, though fundamentally related to those of envi- 
ronment, demand a very different treatment because they are 
so deeply ingrained in the child's nature, and are accordingly 
but slightly alterable. Their investigation is one of the 
most recent of psychological problems, and much remains to 
be done before our knowledge of psychical fact can function 
largely in educational procedure. Hereditary differences may, 
perhaps, be best classified on the basis of the three traditional 
forms of mental activity, as differences of intellect, of feehng, 
and of will, or following Professor Thorndike's more conve- 
nient terms, as differences of thought, of temperament, and of 
action. Of what character and degree are these differences, 
and how shall they affect the work of the instructor? Pro- 
fessor Thorndike has undoubtedly given us the best general 
treatment of the subject, and we may well look to him for our 
psychological data as well as for some of their educational 
implications.^ 

On the basis of mtellectual or thought differences, we 
might regard students as of two main types, which Professor 
Thorndike calls the thing- thinker and the idea- thinker. The 
^ Thorndike, "Principles of Teaching," chap. VI. 



312 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

teacher must see that for the former the idea is comiected with 
the thing, for the other the thing must be associated with the 
idea. The student who tends to think only of the piece of 
apparatus in physics, the persons and events in history, the 
particular verb in French, the given triangle in geometry, 
should be led inseparably to associate with each its meaning 
or idea, the principle back of the apparatus, the persons and 
events, the verb, or the triangle. For the idea-minded stu- 
dent care must be exercised that the learning does not be- 
come mere abstraction, but that content and application of 
the principles are closely bound to the idea itself. Because 
both types occur in the high school class, both idea and thing 
must be clearly and fully treated. The procedure earlier 
studied under the problematic mode, from concrete through 
abstract to concrete again, provides opportunity for the 
training of the whole class, though the distribution of em- 
phasis for the individual members of the class varies with 
their needs, and the teacher must be watchful that neither of 
the types is neglected in the instruction. If the whole move- 
ment be conceived of by the student as one circle of thought, 
a unit in which both concrete and abstract are united, the 
danger of individuals being slighted because of the diversity 
of types will be greatly reduced. On the other hand, any at- 
tempt to materially alter the thought-t3^e of a student by 
high school instruction is foredoomed to failure, if, as we as- 
sume, the basis of the differences is laid in heredity, and 
their form has already become largely established in the 
years of earlier childhood. Instead, we must realize that they 
are fundamental in determining his life-work, and the par- 
ticular trait or talent may, by training, be made a valuable 
asset in his equipment. Thus the thing-thinker may be 
enabled to picture a machine or an event with such vividness 
as to derive added meaning from it, and perhaps portray it 
more vividly to his classmates. The idea-thinker may de- 
velop a most valuable capacity for abstract thought in intel- 
lectual fields. Such abilities may well be trained by a suitable 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 313 

distribution of individual problems, exercises, and reports in 
the class exercise and assignment. 

With the differences in temperament instruction can 
concern itself much less than with intellectual differences. 
They are for the teacher more a matter of discipline than of 
instruction, and can be but little affected by the latter. 
Adopting Thorndike's classification of them, on the basis of 
speed, vigor, and range, one might say that the ideal tem- 
perament is that which combines all three elements, being 
quick, strong, and broad, for each of the qualities is desirable 
when combined with the other two. Extremes of tempera- 
ment are merely wide variations of degree of these qualities 
in an individual, combining strength in one quality with 
weakness in another, and the instruction should seek to 
strengthen the weaker quality. The^owshould be stimu- 
lated, the weak invigorated, the narrow broadened. Further, 
the teacher should aim to unite strongly the feeling element, 
as the basis of temperament, with both thought and action, 
so that the individual's feelings will accord with his best 
thought, and he will neither feel without appropriate action 
nor act except in accord with a rational impulse. Instruction 
must rationalize feeling, must train the rationaHzed feeling to 
express itself in action, and must inhibit a tendency to act 
before the implications of action are duly considered. Of the 
five modes of instruction, probably the appreciation mode 
offers the best opportunity for the training of disposition, be- 
cause of the predominance in it of the feeling element. The 
constant expression of emotional or sentimental attitude both 
of student and of writer, offers exceptional opportunity for 
comparison and evaluation of motive, and reinforces the better 
impulses with the backing of social approval. Further, the 
content studied provides constant occasion for arousing mo- 
tives, and their expression in the critical discussion of the 
class exercise serves to a considerable degree as their idealized 
application. 

Individual differences of will or of action can best be 



314 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

thought of as giving us two types, the unpulsive or impetuous 
will, and the deliberative or reasonable will. The difference 
is really one of degree rather than of kind, with a variation 
from the type in which the individual acts without first stop- 
ping to think, to the type in which the deliberation is unduly 
prolonged, and leads to no choice of action. Evidently, as 
in all variations due to lack of balance between two opposite 
tendencies, neither of which is intrinsically bad, the teacher 
must aim at the strengthening of the weaker tendency, and 
the temporary inhibition of the stronger until the weaker has 
time to act. Doubtless the differences of action t3^e are due 
far less to heredity and far more to habit than is commonly 
supposed. Frequently, too, the extremes of action t3^e are 
in part traceable to a lack of intellectual perspective, a failure 
to properly evaluate the considerations which determine or 
should determine the course of action. Because habit and 
judgment thus play a large part in the situation, the efficacy 
of will training is greater than in the case of temperamental, 
perhaps of intellectual differences. 

Instruction with a view to the establishment of a right 
balance between deliberation and impulse should strive for 
three things: first, the habit of inhibiting an impulse until 
deliberation is possible; second, the proper perspective of the 
considerations confronting one and the ability to choose ra- 
tionally after suitable deliberation; third, the habit of re- 
acting rightly when typical situations confront one, and the 
consequent tendency to respond similarly when confronted 
by other situations recognized as similar. Opportunity for 
such training is abundant in all modes of instruction, es- 
pecially the problematic and appreciation, since these two 
more than the others involve the students' response to new 
situations. Attention to the student's answers to questions 
should, as suggested in the chapter on The Question, demand 
matured answers, really expressing the best thought of the 
student. Hastiness in answering, on the one hand, and a 
reluctance to suggest a positive answer, on the other, are rep- 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 315 

resentative of the two types of action, and the treatment 
earlier suggested for such answers is the basis for that of the 
two extremes of impulsiveness and extreme deliberation re- 
spectively in so far as high school instruction is concerned. 
For the initiation of the habit sought it is often necessary to 
reinforce the new habit by means of a somewhat severe 
stimulus. For example, in the case of the impulsive type, 
hasty action should be followed by unpleasant consequences, 
immediate enough and long enough continued to insure their 
certain and prompt functioning before the impulse can be 
acted upon when the occasion again arises. In the case of 
the deliberative type it is well to compel immediate re- 
sponses to situations, yet not relieving the individual from 
the responsibihty for the results of his action, for irresponsible 
haste would be either ineffectual or harmful in its results. 

The Teacher's Attitude Toward Individual Differences. — 
Our study of the treatment of individual differences raises 
the question of the instructor's general attitude toward such 
differences, and has implicitly suggested the answer. Shall 
the attitude be a positive or a negative one? Shall he en- 
courage or discourage differences? The answers given in the 
various cases above may be generalized in a comparatively 
simple principle. Determine whether the trait in question can 
be of service to the individual in life, and, if so, what degree 
of it will be of most service. If its value is negative, reinforce 
the impulse or capacity which will restrain it. If positive, 
facilitate its development to its proper degree. If there is 
danger of excess, reinforce the opposing impulse or capacity to 
establish a proper balance between the two. Thus the utiliza- 
tion of forces already present rather than the suppression of 
undesired ones or the creation of new, the rationalization of 
these forces by intellectual training, and their establishment 
in the form of correct habits are the three principles which in 
the treatment of individual differences must control instruc- 
tion. Quoting from Professor Thomdike: ^'The one thing 
that educational theorists of to-day seem to place as the fore- 



3l6 PRINCIPLES OE TEACHING 

most duty of the schools — the development of powers and 
capacities — is the one thing that the schools or any other edu- 
cational forces can do least. The one thing that they can do 
best is to establish those particular connections with ideas 
which we call knowledge and those particular connections with 
acts which we call habits." ^ 

Important as is the matter of individual differences in edu- 
cation, there is still some danger of exaggerating its significance 
for method. Appalled by the vast array of possible combina- 
tions and degrees of differences among the pupils of his class, 
the teacher may despair of adapting his method of instruc- 
tion to them all. Factually the case is not so hopeless after 
all. Among high school students variations are seldom ex- 
treme, and the desirable traits are usually fairly well corre- 
lated, so that really the class consists mainly of a group the 
members of which differ but slightly, and demand compara- 
tively slight differences of treatment.^ Moreover, the fact 
that students respond differently to a situation does not neces- 
sarily mean that the situation must be differently presented 
to them, but rather that the different responses shall be recog- 
nized and, so far as possible, be so directed as best to utilize 
the differences represented. 

Specific Forms of Individualizing Instruction. — We have 
been discussing the general principles which should govern 
in individual instruction in all its phases. A few suggestions 
regarding some particular forms of such instruction may be 
of profit. Business houses have long since learned the im- 
portance of ^'following up" their general advertising with in- 
dividual attention to prospective customers. Elaborate sys- 
tems of indexing have been devised for the administration of 
systematic correspondence and visitation, with the hope that 
even a small portion of the efforts may bring results. With a 
much smaller group and immensely greater chance of success, 
the demand for a ''follow-up" system in instruction seems 

^Thorndike, "Educational Psychology," vol. Ill, p. 314. 

2 Thorndike, "Educational Psychology," vol. Ill, pp. 362 J?"., 374~375. 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 317 

not only rational but imperative. Classroom application, 
study period, laboratory instruction, and personal conference 
all afford an opportunity for profitable systematic "following- 
up" instruction which has hitherto been neglected, or at best 
desultory. Why might not a simple card index, involving an 
intelligent adaptation of business methods to individual in- 
struction, be an appropriate article of desk equipment for the 
teacher's study? 

In the classroom application the use of blackboard or of 
written work affords the instructor his best opportunity for 
observing the individual needs of all his pupils at one time. 
Because it involves all of them, and for a comparatively short 
time, its systematic administration is of vital importance. 
Elaborate and prolonged instruction of one or two indi- 
viduals is obviously wasteful when the needs of the group 
are overlooked, and should be deferred to the personal con- 
ference. On the contrary, attention should first be given to a 
general oversight of the entire group, primarily to the points 
left obscure by the lesson development immediately pre- 
ceding, and to principles rather than to details. If the devel- 
opment of the lesson is found to have been inadequate, the 
time for the remedy of the difficulty is then, before the class 
undertake the further application in jtheputside study. If 
details of procedure are attended to at the expense of prin- 
ciples, the many will suffer in the gain of the few. On the 
other hand, this must not be taken to justify the neglect of 
accuracy or detail, but rather its subordination to the general 
principle (save when it is itself the chief aim of the lesson), 
and the deferring of it to personal conference in case it and 
the general principle cannot both be adequately dealt with. 

Laboratory instruction in its various forms affords a 
much better opportunity for dealing with individual needs 
than does the class exercise. This is due partly to its more 
informal character, partly to the longer period involved. 
Because the use to which one can put his knowledge is a final 
test of that knowledge, the laboratory affords the instructor 



3l8 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

a most favorable opportunity to discover the adequacy of 
his classroom instruction. He must be watchful not for re- 
sults alone, but for methods, and by occasional questioning 
find out not merely the how but the why of the student's 
procedure. Much so-called laboratory work, in library, 
laboratory, or field excursion, is largely imitation, and only 
by individual questioning, possibly at intervals during the 
procedure, can the student be brought to a real consciousness 
of what he is doing. 

The study hour, because of its peculiar function of de- 
veloping self-reliance, and of the necessity of avoiding distrac- 
tion for the group, offers somewhat less opportunity for indi- 
vidual attention. On the other hand, the advantages which 
should result from the meeting of individual needs as they 
arise rather than in the next class exercise, justify the teacher 
in undertaking more than mere police duty in the study hall. 
The modern movement toward supervised study, discussed 
in Chapter XII, is beginning to yield very positive results, 
and though the movement is still in its infancy and the 
methods still to be worked out, the high school teacher must 
come to realize that the lesson preparation under supervision 
offers splendid opportunity for the individualizing of the in- 
struction, which in the class exercise must necessarily be 
largely general. The individual work of the study super- 
vision obviously provides the best basis for the '^follow-up" 
work above suggested. 

The value of the personal conference has already been re- 
ferred to in connection with the examination. Not merely 
does it give the personal acquaintance and sympathy which 
render all teaching more effectual and inspiring, but it, too, 
affords peculiar opportunity for the ''follow-up" work of 
instruction. Here the needs of individuals can be discovered 
and met, and the efficacy of the succeeding class exercise 
very greatly increased. The conferences need not always 
include a single student, but groups with similar needs may 
often be called in conference, with the added advantages of 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 319 

economy of time and opportunity for mutual helpfulness. At 
such conferences the rule '^business first" need not imply 
*' business only," for the creation of a favorable mood and the 
impression that the teacher is not merely an instructor are 
valuable conditions for teaching. 

Teacher Assistance and Individual Instruction. — Our dis- 
cussion of individual instruction may well close with a word 
of caution which, losing none of its importance because often 
spoken, concerns all forms of individual instruction. School 
instruction is to develop ability, not to secure certain par- 
ticular answers, and the teacher must be on his guard lest in 
his attempt to assist the student he assist him to get answers 
rather than ability. The instructor must not do the student's 
work for him, but should rather aim to increase his power to 
the point where he can do it himself. If a problem is such 
that the student's ability cannot be made adequate for it, 
the problem is imsuited to him, and might better be omitted. 
The injunction, "Do nothing for the student that he can do 
for himself," would better express our thought if taken to 
mean, "Do for the student nothing which it would be worth 
his while to do for himself." Occasionally telling him some- 
thing which he could have foimd out for himself may be a 
real help, if that finding out would, through distraction of his 
attention or his lack of skill, have prevented or seriously 
hindered the accomplishment of something else more profita- 
ble. Not merely values but relative values must be reckoned 
with. 

2. Social Instruction 

Meaning. — ^The responsibility of the school for the edu- 
cation of the child for his own individual good has long been 
recognised. However, society has a right to expect more 
than this. The school is society's chief agency for the sociali- 
zation of its future members, and cannot fulfil its function 
imless it trains the rising generation for the responsibilities 
as well as the privileges of social membership. Because the 




320 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

secondary school deals with a type of students more ad- 
vanced than that of the elementary school, and intellectually 
better fitted for leadership, the demand that it shall recog- 
nize the obligation of social training is peculiarly urgent. 

In the preceding section we applied the term individual 
instruction to instruction of the students as individuals, and 
for the sake of meeting individual needs. With equal justi- 
fication we may employ the term social instruction for that 
type of instruction which is given to the students as members 
of a group, and for the specific purpose of meeting social needs 
and developing social relationships on the part of the mem- 
bers of the class. In both cases only those phases of the 
problem are considered which are directly involved in second- 
ary teaching. With the philosophical as well as the admin- 
istrative problems of social education we are here only inci- 
dentally concerned. At best our present study can be but 
incomplete, because the application of sociology to secondary 
education is itself a field in which very little has yet been 
done. 

Aims. — The discussion of the problem of social instruc- 
tion in the secondary school naturally resolves itself into a 
twofold one, dealing with the aims of social instruction and 
the ways in which they can be attained in the usual school in- 
struction of class exercise, laboratory, and study hour. 

Social differs from individual instruction in aim and 
method, but the difference is not a sharp one, and the differ- 
ence must ultimately be based upon the training of persons 
rather than of the group as a whole. Social purposes and 
social procedure are to be employed in the training of the in- 
dividual. His social needs are to be met, his social relation- 
ships realized; he is to be socialized. Social instruction, there- 
fore, must ultimately be of boys and girls, not of the class as 
such; it must be particular and specific, not general and in- 
definite, for the character of the class is determined by that 
of its members acting in a group, and the social training of 
the class is the training of its members in their social activi- 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 32 1 

ties. Accordingly, our problem will be the statement of the 
aims to be attained by social instruction^ and the methods of 
their attainment through the training of the students who 
constitute the group. 

In Chapter III four aims of education were suggested: 
social intelligence, social disposition, social efficiency, and 
social habit. Sharp differentiation between aims is impossi- 
ble and useless. It is far less important that they be mu- 
tually exclusive than that they be aU-inclusive, taking account 
of all the requirements of social instruction. The adequacy 
of the formulation is guaranteed by its recognition of the 
three forms of mental activity, as well as of the permanence 
of their fimction. 

Social intelligence naturally involves in the first place an 
understanding of the social curriculum, but \dewed from the 
distinctively social angle. Each subject which is or should 
be in the high school curriculum has its social implication, 
although as commonly taught such impHcation is b.ut Httle 
if at all realized by either teacher or pupil. The student 
usually feels that education is a possession which he is earn- 
ing, and is, therefore, to be used for his owm advantage. Ac- 
cordingly, the indi\'iduaHstic aim so pervades his study that 
the social phases of the various studies are seldom noticed. 
Probably ci\dcs, histor}'^ and current events contain, the most 
obvious social content, since all deal with the organization of 
society as it is and ia its development. The sciences, includ- 
ing the physical, biological, and mathematical, and especially 
the vocational, all make a real social contribution, principally 
through their economic appHcations. Literature and lan- 
guage study are to-day coming to be taught as a means of 
interpreting the social feeling and ideals of the race. Manual 
training and domestic science have a real economic value, 
and share with physical training and hygiene in their ser\'ice 
to the social institution of the home. The specific social 
content and method of each of these studies are problems for 
the courses in the special methods of the respective subjects. 



322 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Our concern here is with the general social aim to be real- 
ized in them all, and its significance for the work of instruc- 
tion. 

A second form of social intelligence inseparably connected 
with the above is the knowledge of society. Sometimes im- 
plicit in the curriculum study, sometimes explicitly offered 
as extra-curriculum instruction, it may be provided either 
unconsciously or consciously on the part of the teacher. It 
must involve a first-hand knowledge of actual society, and 
especially that society of which the student is a part, both 
within and without the school. The curriculum specifically 
teaches him about society, which is good so far as it goes. 
This must, however, be supplemented with an intelligent so- 
cial experience. Coming often from homes where such mat- 
ters are practically ignored, he must, tactfully and consider- 
ately, be taught the conventionalities and proprieties which 
society demands, and should be shown how they are usually 
not arbitrary, but have been evolved for the preservation and 
improvement of society. Thus he can be led to criticise and 
evaluate the motives and forces which are active in the society 
in which he is to have a part, and later in his high school course 
may profitably undertake a formal study of elementary social 
ethics. 

The third form oi social intelligence is the understanding 
of oneself. It is not enough that one know about society 
in general and have first-hand knowledge of his own im- 
mediate social environment in particular. Since he is to 
participate actively in the latter, and to gradually extend his 
participation to embrace more and more of the former, he 
must know his own personal function in the social body, in- 
volving a knowledge of his capacity, his needs, and his own 
peculiar social opportunities and obligations. He must see 
what are his particular talents, and how these can by ade- 
quate training and direction be adapted to the social oppor- 
tunities which surround him. He must be made to realize 
his deficiencies, and his obligation to society to remedy these 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 323 

in SO far as possible, and render himself a more valuable mem- 
ber of the social group. 

Social Disposition. — The second of the four social aims is, 
doubtless, the most difficult to secure. Neither teaching one 
about a form of action nor compelling him to perform it re- 
peatedly nor capacitating him for its performance will cause 
one to want to do it. Intelligence, habit, and efficiency do 
not necessarily insure disposition, though vital for its proper 
functioning. Even a desire on gne's part for a social dis- 
position will not suffice for its acquisition. One cannot like 
a certain person, or want to do a certain thing, because he 
wants to like or wants to want. Disposition cannot be driven 
but must be led, and led tactfully. And yet it is not on that 
account wholly beyond control. We go to hear inspirational 
discourses on moral and religious themes because we know 
that as a result we will more earnestly desire to do the right. 
We seek to select the adolescent's reading and associates be- 
cause we realize the control these exercise over his disposition 
toward the best things of life. The truth seems to be that 
the student is influenced far more by persons and things than 
by principles, and the foundation for social disposition must 
be laid in the concrete and personal rather than the abstract. 

The content of study, in order to have a social force, must 
be adapted to the student, lying within the range of his inter- 
ests, and having a vital significance for him. In civics the 
study of the election of the mayor has more training value 
for social disposition than that of the state attorney-general, 
because it is closer to his own experience and its social implica- 
tions are more real to him. Quite as important is the form 
of its presentation, which must lead from concrete things of 
the student's experience, and must make its first appeal to the 
interests and motives already active. In the instance just 
mentioned the social disposition in state affairs can best be 
attained by starting with those of the city, in which the boy 
is already interested, and broadening that interest until it 
includes the more general and remote. In so far as the sub- 



324 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

ject permits it should be given in terms of action. The stu- 
dent is but little concerned with mere facts about the office 
of mayor, but what the mayor does, and what he himself 
may have to do with the mayor's election, have for him a real 
social appeal. 

The choice of content is, for the development of social 
disposition, far less fruitful than the manner of its teaching. 
Social disposition is itself a matter of attitude, and the atti- 
tude assumed toward any instruction is largely determined 
by that of the instructor. Just as many students like a study 
because the teacher of that study is friendly, so the entire 
environment has its influence on the disposition of the student 
toward what he learns. The teacher's personal manner toward 
his pupils and his work is peculiarly influential, because they, 
consciously or unconsciously, look to him as a leader, and 
tend to assume the same attitude that he does. The mood. of 
the child also determines greatly his response to situations 
and obHgations. For example, public criticism for a breach 
of courtesy may easily render the child antagonistic toward 
all social conventionalities. Thus, the choice of time and con- 
ditions of social instruction may well receive consideration. 
Social sentiment is another powerful factor, and every teacher 
knows well how the approval or disapproval of the group 
affects the attitude of the individual member of the group 
in matters of his social relationships. Attempting to train 
a boy to be polite and considerate when the group considers 
these qualities effeminate can seldom extend beyond per- 
functory conformity, with no changes in the social disposi- 
tion. Since groups regularly follow leaders, a wise plan is, 
when possible, to bring the leaders of the groups to assume 
a right social attitude in their leadership, and the powerful 
force of social sentiment will soon follow to reinforce it. 
S3anpathy between the teacher and his pupils will result in 
his being one, and the chief one, of those leaders. In the 
same way the students should be taught to recognize good 
leaderships and good society, so that in later years the social 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 325 

sentiment to which he responds will be that which is in har- 
mony with his highest ideals. Naturally, social disposition 
is inseparable from moral disposition, in both origin and 
function, and the demands of social life furnish reinforcement 
for moral training. In the words of Professor O'Shea, ''The 
pupil must be led to see the social necessity for every moral 
attitude urged upon him." ^ 

Social efficiency, our third aim, is by no means distinct 
from the other three, and is by some writers taken as inclu- 
sive of them. The word "efficiency" suggests the ability to 
bring things to pass, to put ideals into realization. The effi- 
cient person is one who can be depended upon to do the 
right thing, and in the right way. Certainly social knowledge 
and disposition contribute to social efficiency, and perhaps it 
may be thought of as constituted by the synthesis of the two 
elements functioning as a unit. For our purpose, however, 
its importance Hes in its peculiar emphasis upon action. 
Instruction's part in securing social efficiency culminates in 
its binding appropriate action to knowledge and feeling, the 
application to the principle. This implies that following up 
the teaching of social relationships and obligations in the 
classroom there should come at once their realization, as 
truly as in the teaching of mathematical operations or scien- 
tific principles. Moreover, the instruction should be such 
that the self-government and social life of the school are 
forms of its application, and not wholly distinct from it, as 
is usually the case. The principles that are to control con- 
duct should not merely be idealized in the classroom instruc- 
tion, but should find there their first application, and as ex- 
pression is a step toward application they should be ex- 
pressed there as well. The intellectual training derived from 
the class instruction in English composition may be given 
social application in contributions to the school paper, and 
the geometry may be put to use for common good on the 
planning of the running track or tennis court, if prompted 
* O'Shea, ''Social Development and Education," p. 269. 



326 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

by the right spirit. Thus there will be built up a connection 
whereby the social conditions of the class work will provide 
the basis for social instruction, which under the impetus of 
social disposition will lead to classroom application, and 
thence spread to the other school activities, and thus into the 
later life of the student in the outside world. 

Social habit is to social disposition what the flywheel is 
to the engine. The social unpulse, like the impulse of the 
steam in the cylinder, is not constant, nor are the obstacles 
it is to encounter or the load of the engine always the same. 
In either case steadiness of action is vital, and is secured by 
the momentum of the social habit, in the one case, and the 
flywheel in the other. If, as ethics teaches us, character is 
*'a fixed habit of will," social character is such a fixed habit 
of will, and the possessor of a good habit has, using Professor 
James's apt phrase, a most helpful ally in life's battles. The 
high school graduate, encountering the situations of life with- 
out the immediate assistance of the school environment and 
influence, will often be called upon to choose lines of social 
action in the face of strong antisocial influences. It is here 
that habits acquired in the school training give him a mo- 
mentum to reinforce the otherwise inadequate social impulse, 
and the resultant choice is rightly made. 

In an earlier chapter^ the laws of habit formation were 
^ven as two, which we called the laws of initiation and fixa- 
tion. First give a new habit as strong a motive as possible, 
and then repeat the activity until it is thoroughly established. 
In the forming of social habits these principles hold. Having 
given the student the initial motive, by adequate intelligence, 
disposition, and efiiciency, the social conduct must be fixated 
by repetition. This would involve such an organization of 
the school that the student would continually be called upon 
to act upon his social ideals, in the permanent forms of self- 
government, social organizations, athletics, and the like. 
However, our present problem is that of instruction, which 
should be basal for the other phases of the school life. 

' Cf. p. 85. 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 327 

The various activities of the classroom, such as passing 
to the board, collecting of papers, and, still more important, 
the assisting of fellow students and teacher and co-operation 
with them in common undertakings, and all that the term 
esprit de corps implies — all these furnish abundant scope for 
the establishment of social habits. Thus, in the conduct of 
the class exercise, the laboratory, and the study hour, oppor- 
tunity should be sought for the frequent and repeated doing 
of the thing desired to habitualize. Many of the difficulties 
encountered in administering student government and life 
outside the classroom could have been escaped had the social 
habits been initiated in the class exercise where instruction 
and guidance can play a large part. 

School Agencies for Social Instruction. — What agencies 
has the high school at its service for the realization of these 
four social aims just discussed? Perhaps it might rather be 
questioned whether there is any phase of the school activity 
which does not afford opportunity for social training, for not 
infrequently the activities most mechanized and devitalized 
could, if properly utilized, be made to render the most helpful 
social training. With our field limited to the primarily in- 
structional rather than the administrative phases of the ques- 
tion, there naturally suggest themselves to us the three agen- 
cies already studied: the class exercise, the laboratory in its 
various forms, and to some degree the study hour. How 
these may be so conducted as to realize the social aims con- 
stitutes the second part of our problem of social instruction. 

The class exercise is naturally the centre of the school 
life, socially as well as intellectually. In Chapter IV we 
quoted Professor Dewey's reference to it as "a social clearing- 
house, where experiences and ideas are exchanged and sub- 
jected to criticism, where misconceptions are corrected, and 
new lines of thought and inquiry set up.'' With accent upon 
its social aspect, it might be described as a social clearing- 
house, where capacities and interests are pooled and put to 
the test of service, where non-social traits are corrected and 



328 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

new fields of social endeavor discovered. For the realization 
of such an ideal the formal character of the typical classroom 
procedure is ill adapted. For military manoeuvres where 
identity of action under command is the goal, ranks and files 
serve a purpose, but not for the classroom, and the checker- 
board alignment of immovable seats is being displaced by 
the grouping of the students about tables, or in other arrange- 
ments conducive to the social spirit which should dominate. 
This does not imply the substitution of chaos for order, for 
there must always be system and method of procedure where 
several persons are to work together. It is rather a substi- 
tution of form for formalism. 

This reform in seating plan is but a minor phase of the 
needed reform in the general classroom procedure, with the 
idea of the class exercise as a reciting to the teacher, where 
the teacher asks questions of individual students and the 
student gives his answer to the teacher alone. Not merely 
should the teacher's question be addressed to the whole class, 
but the answer should likewise be an answer to the class, not 
to the teacher only, and spoken loudly and clearly enough for 
all to hear. The central thought should be that the class is 
a social group working for a common end, and that what is 
correct in good society generally is the correct thing for the 
classroom. Carelessness in the thought or in the expression 
of what is said should be resented by the class as a slight, 
and the force of social sentiment brought to bear upon the 
offender. In similar manner, a piece of class work well done 
should win the approval not merely of the teacher but of the 
group. 

All this is possible only on the basis of a social conscious- 
ness, a feeling of solidarity, which is an essential for the social 
participation of adult life, and is far more easy to secure with 
adolescents than might at first be supposed. The same force 
which makes high school students want to manage their own 
athletics, debating and literary organizations, and which 
makes student self-government successful can , with equal 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 329 

justification, though to a less degree, be utilized in the class- 
room. The sense of proprietorship, the zest of self-control, 
the feeling of responsibiHty, or the spirit of self-reHance (call 
it what you will) is strong in the youth, and under guidance 
can become possibly the most valuable acquisition of his 
high school days. Yet guidance is necessary in an unfamiliar 
territory, and in the work of instruction, at least, the youth 
will seek it, readily acknowledging his lack of knowledge and 
training. Thus, in the properly organized class group the 
teacher becomes the acknowledged leader in the instruction, 
a leader by virtue of recognized merit rather than by force 
of the school authority, which is kept in the background. 
In a sense the teacher becomes the property of the class, to 
be used for the good of the group, and all the more valuable 
property because a person rather than a reference book or 
apparatus. 

The fundamental principles of the social organization of 
the class instruction are thus seen to be two: student co- 
operation and teacher leadership. The concept of teacher 
leadership implies that of student self-activity. It suggests 
that in each student there is in all the instruction process a 
degree of initiative. Thus viewed, the tendencies toward 
unthinking conformity, . known as suggestion and imitation, 
are antisocial to the degree that they involve non-critical 
acceptance and following of authority or prestige. A recog- 
nition that the teacher is probably right, and a desire to un- 
derstand why, are the better and more social forms of sug- 
gestion and imitation. The concept of the student's mutual 
co-operation implies a disposition to help one's neighbor even 
at the expense of personal convenience. Thus viewed, the 
employment of emulation in instruction is dangerous in its 
tendency to place a premium upon the failure of others. A 
desire to excel because the thing is worth the effort made, 
and a realization that success in the competition is most 
commendable after helping one's competitor to do his best, 
are the social correctives in emulation. 



330 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Forms of Socialization of Instruction. — These two funda- 
mental principles of the socialized class exercise are easily 
formulated and readily accepted. The ways in which they 
are to be applied in practice are neither simple to devise nor 
universal in form. The degree of student responsibility in 
the instruction ranges all the way from almost none to almost 
complete, depending much upon such factors as the maturity 
of the students, the character of the work, the size of the class, 
the equipment of the school, and, most of all, the attitude of 
the teacher and principal. 

The most conservative form of socialization of instruction 
is that in which student responsibility in instruction is limited 
to their mutual co-operation. Here the central thought is 
that of mutual helpfulness. Students are naturally willing 
to help one another when their attention is called to the 
possibility of so doing. The chief difficulty is thoughtlessness 
and inexperience. Showing them how, calling attention to 
the need, assigning a particular task, and making it a regular 
part of the instruction are respectively but the concrete appli- 
cation of our four aims: social intelligence, social disposition, 
social efficiency, and social habit. The teacher is prone to 
think that he alone must do for his students all that is done 
for them. Even if he can do it more skilfully, there is lost 
the greater benefit to both helper and helped which results 
when one member of the group assists his neighbor or neigh- 
bors. Moreover, it sometimes happens that a student better 
appreciates the difficulties of his fellow because of a greater 
nearness to his intellectual level, and can touch the vital 
point overlooked by the teacher. On the other hand, pupils 
are likely to mistake the character of helpfulness, thinking it 
consists in facilitating the getting of answers instead of de- 
veloping power. Attention given to showing the class the 
real aim in instruction, and giving them the responsibility 
for the quality of help they render, adds greatly to their effi- 
ciency in more ways than the one for which it is primarily 
designed. 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 33 1 

The classroom may very well adapt and adopt the team 
work of the athletic field. The ability to work with one's 
fellows is an important element in efficiency, and may well 
be cultivated in the class exercise. Forms in which it may 
be developed are the debate and the joint report by several, 
or even all, of the members of the class. Here each must 
co-operate with the others for a common end, and without 
"playing to the grand stand." The success of the group is 
his success, and its responsibility his responsibility. 

The spirit of helpfulness may serve to give a new sig- 
nificance to an activity commonly employed, but sometimes 
mth an antisocial influence. The classroom has been re- 
peatedly referred to as the place for the exchange of ideas, 
where they may be amplified, clarified, and corrected. When 
this is done by the teacher, it loses its special value. When 
done by fellow students, it may take on the character of fault- 
finding and picking of flaws, with the "I-know-better-than- 
that'' attitude. Not only the abler but even the weaker 
student joins in the smile of superiority at the expense of the 
mistaken one. When the spirit of helpful criticism prevails, 
each seeks to remedy the shortcomings of his fellows, sharing 
in the regret at his deficiencies and the gratification over his 
successes. Thus the class comes to experience such a sense 
of solidarity that it feels the successes and failures of its 
individual members to be the successes and failures of the 
group, just as the whole school boasts of its athletic team^s 
victories and condones its defeats. 

The three preceding paragraphs suggest to us the three 
forms of responsibility which function in the mutual student 
co-operation: responsibility of the class to the individual, 
responsibility of the individual to the class, and responsibility 
of the class for the individual. 

In the realization of these responsibilities the student 
"finds himself" socially. Thus he comes to discover his 
ability and his obligation to serve society. The division of 
labor incident to co-operative group work will naturally be 



332 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

based upon the group's estimate of his fitness. Herein he 
will find a social incentive to rise to his best capacity, and to 
develop his peculiar talents through and for the service of the 
group. What is especially important, he will work under 
conditions and be prompted by motives closely parallel to 
those of adult society rather than those of mere obedience to 
authority. A good foundation for social membership will 
have been laid. 

A more radical form of socialized instruction is that in 
which the student responsibility extends to actual participa- 
tion in the instruction, not merely in mutual co-operation, 
but directly in that they undertake some of the teaching it- 
self. This may even extend to what might be termed stu- 
dent direction of the instruction as well as mere student par- 
ticipation in it. Some attention has of late been attracted 
by the advocacy of a plan whereby the teacher becomes a 
spectator, and the conduct of the class is placed in the hands 
of a student leader.^ The leader calls upon some student for 
a topical recitation upon a point in the lesson assigned, and 
the other students take the attitude of critics. Each stu- 
dent is responsible to the class for the justification of his 
criticism, as well as for the supplementing of what has been 
recited. Further topics are suggested by leader or class, 
until the lesson has been recited upon or the period has ex- 
pired. Such a plan has several points in its favor. It de- 
velops the initiative and responsibility of the class, trains in 
respect for and co-operation with the authority of even a 
member of the group, exercises judgment in the evaluation of 
the lesson material, both as to accuracy and relative impor- 
tance, and awakens general interest, at the same time giving 
much of the training in oral expression incident to topical 
recitation. The name under which it is often advocated, 
the "socialized recitation," is not inapt. It certainly is social- 
ized, combining as it does so many of the social elements we 

* Such a plan is described in the School Review, vol. XVII, No. 255. 
A modified form of the use of monitors in teaching is suggested by Parker 
in his " Methods of Teaching in High Schools," pp. 382^. 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 333 

have mentioned. Unfortunately, the word "recitation" is 
also apt, for when immature students have the direction of 
the class exercise it is prone to resolve itself into a mere reci- 
tation. For the development of new material it is mani- 
festly unsuited, since in view of the immaturity of the stu- 
dents it would involve the "blind leading the blind," and the 
waste of the most valuable educational asset of the class, viz., 
the teacher's training. For an occasional variation in the 
conduct of the recitation instruction upon comparatively 
simple content, it has been found admirable. 

Student participation, stopping short of full control, is far 
more available and safe. Students enjoy having a share in 
the work of instruction, even though it extend no further 
than the supplying of materials. As illustrations of such 
participation might be mentioned the collecting of science 
specimens and materials, loaning of books and magazines, 
and bringing of pictures for illustrative purposes. Volunteer- 
ing to secure some desired information, to work a problem for 
the class, or to prepare a report or discussion on some de- 
sired topic would be helpful participation in several ways. 
The selection of particular students to prepare for the class a 
description of what was seen on a field trip, the demonstration 
of a proposition, the translation of a passage, or a character- 
sketch of an author studied in literature would illustrate such 
participation especially well when the emphasis is laid on the 
assignment as representing the class through the very best 
that one of its members, perhaps its best qualified member, 
can do. The central thought permeating it all must be that 
of assisting in the instruction, not that of meeting the de- 
mand of the teacher. Teachers may occasionally, with great 
social and instructional profit, suggest to the class that 
through their chosen representative, assisted by the group, 
they explain to one of their number a problem which baffles 
him. Explanation in such a case has for the students a real 
function, and they discover better than in any other way 
what constitutes good explanation. 



334 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

Encouraging students to suggest topics for study and 
problems for solution encourages a responsibility for their 
contributions, for they soon discover the loss and difficulty 
resulting when the choice was thoughtlessly made. Further 
value lies in the fact that such problems are usually real ones 
for the class, and will be more earnestly attacked because they 
feel a measure of responsibility for them. 

The laboratory instruction, as the second of the agencies 
for the reaHzation of the social aims, has a peculiar oppor- 
tunity in the greater liberty of the students, and hence in the 
greater responsibility that accompanies that liberty. The 
form of procedure is that of the workroom, and the rules that 
govern are those best adapted for the good of the group, un- 
hampered by tradition. Since the laboratory, in its various 
forms, is thought of by the student as a place for work, with 
responsibility for results, he readily recognizes the importance 
of good working conditions, unhampered by the mischief or 
thoughtlessness of his fellows. Naturally the degree of re- 
straint in the laboratory instruction depends upon many 
factors, varying from the great liberty of the field excursion 
to the greater self-restraint and quiet of the Ubrary, and the 
student can quickly learn to adjust himself, thus developing 
thoughtfulness and self-control. The training thus provided 
in adaptation in work to the rights of others is, in itself, one 
of the important social lessons of the school. The field ex- 
cursion by groups, or of the entire clasg, may take on in a 
measure the character of social service when, at the expense 
of real effort, specimens are collected for the school museum, 
or even one quite apart from the school, perhaps of another 
less favored school. 

Because of the greater degree of individuality in its work 
than in that of the class exercise, less opportunity is offered 
for co-operative effort on a common task. In library work 
there is practically none. Some is offered in the school excur- 
sion in a systematic division of effort in the search for speci- 
mens, investigation of land formations, and preparation of a 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 335 

joint report upon observations. In the school laboratory 
itself an experiment or observation may be made by the class 
working together; for example, in the quantitative work in 
physics the average of all the results obtained by students 
may be employed as the basis for further experimentation. 
Different students in biological work may undertake the ob- 
servation of different features of a single plant or animal form, 
and the results of all be united in a joint description to be 
entered in the notebooks of all. Still more frequent will be 
partnership work wherein two work together upon a problem, 
the results of both being united for a joint report. A social 
value in all these cases Kes in the responsibihty of each stu- 
dent for the accuracy and adequacy of his results, since his 
failures become the failures of the group, and all suffer or 
profit with him. 

The study hour offers far less opportunity for social in- 
struction. The facts that study demands quiet and that its 
chief feature is independent work leave but a narrow range 
for social work as directly connected with instruction. What 
there is enters largely in the self-restraint and thoughtfulness 
of one's fellows, which the pupil in his study demands from 
others, and in turn learns to accord them. He learns to do 
things in an orderly manner, not for the sake of himself but 
for that of others. To some degree, and under proper man- 
agement, students may be encouraged to assist one another 
in the preparation of lessons, though there is danger of so 
doing resulting in more harm than good, mainly through dis- 
turbance of neighbors and lack of oversight. A social value 
of a different sort is derived from the training of self-reliance 
in work, encouraging the pupil to master his difficulties him- 
self rather than disturb pupils or teacher unnecessarily. The 
occasion may be utilized for suggesting to pupils the applica- 
tion of the same principles to the study done at home in the 
midst of the home circle. Social training whose influence does 
not reach beyond the school walls and the school hours falls 
far short of its true aim. 



336 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

3. The Relation between Individual and Social 
Instruction 

The relation between individual and social instruction 
has too long been thought of as one of antagonism, and from 
this interpretation has arisen a disposition to assume that 
one of the two must be sacrificed for the other. If indi- 
viduality means the sacrifice of one's neighbor's interests for 
one's own, it is antisocial. If social instruction means the 
submersion of personality in the mass, it negates the indi- 
vidual. However, neither meaning is correct. The truly 
social is that which is based upon the personality of the indi- 
vidual members of the group, and the truly individual is that 
which is possible in its completeness only as a part of the 
social unity. 

As the teacher faces his class of twenty pupils, what shall 
the group mean to him? He may view it as twenty repeti- 
tions of the typical student, or he may regard it as twenty 
adolescents whose relationship is merely that of all of them 
being students of the same subject at the same time and 
place. Either interpretation is inadequate. No two students 
are duplicates, interchangeable like the pawns on the chess- 
board. Neither are they unrelated, free to move about the 
board independently. Instead, they are the major pieces, 
kings and queens, bishops and knights and rooks. To the 
chess-player these constitute a unity, a system wherein each 
plays a peculiar part, often widely different, often very similar, 
yet always related each to each. Personify these chessmen, 
making them consciously and purposively participative in the 
play, and we have a reasonably accurate picture of the class 
as the teacher sees it before him. 

Frequent reference has been made to the response of the 
student to situations, both intellectual and emotional. Be- 
cause no two persons have the same background of experience 
or of heredity, because their intellectual and emotional needs 
and interests differ, these individual differences will lead to 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 337 

differences of responses. Naturally each response, as the 
meeting of an individual need, has its individual value. At 
the same time a potential social value lies in the variety of 
the responses, in that each contributes a distinct viewpoint 
and interpretation of the environment and of life. The ex- 
perience of every man is richer because of his contact with 
another man, who responds differently to situations that con- 
front both. Thus we saw that a leading function of the class 
exercise is its provision for exchange, comparison, and recon- 
struction of ideas, ideals, and attitudes. Individual study 
leads the pupil to train his own knowledge and feelings, but 
since he is to be a part of the social group, society demands 
that he shall adapt these to the social knowledge and feeling 
and resultant action. 

This is not a process of substitution, but one of expan- 
sion. Nothing of his own is really lost, but all goes to shape 
the intellectual, emotional, and volitional life of the group. 
As a member of society the individual is under obligation, 
both on his own account and on that of society, to contribute 
and conform. However, the conformity is neither repressive 
nor absolute. Rather it is the broadening of the individual's 
interests, his intellectual and emotional wants, until they have 
become social interests, and he shall want for society what 
society needs, as well as want for himself what he himself 
needs. Further, he shall have been trained to work with 
society in the attainment of society's wants, contributing his 
individual talents in the rendering of his individual part in the 
attainment. He shall remain an individual while becoming 
social. 

This discussion of the relation of the individual and so- 
cial aims is impHcitly a discussion of the relation of individual 
and social instruction. The former is instruction directed 
expHcitly to the training of the individual's talents and capaci- 
ties, the latter is instruction which seeks to bring these talents 
and capacities into social service. Complete instruction thus 
involves both individual and social, and not as distinct but 



338 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

as aspects of a single process. Thus viewed it will seek to 
develop individual initiative in responding to social demands 
and ideals. 

Individual instruction is the recognition and development 
of desirable individual dijfferences. It is a process of differ- 
entiation. Social instruction consists in adapting and ad- 
justing together the members of the group to form a unity 
which we call society. It is a process of integration. The 
differentiation must culminate in the integration. Society 
can be organic only when each individual plays his part, and 
that part, determined by his individual talents and traits, 
must be developed with a consideration of their function in 
fitting the individual for social participation. Education's 
task is the development of these individual talents and traits, 
and the individual's adaptation thereby for taking his place 
in the social whole, contributing to the whole because of 
his individuality, benefiting individually because of his social 
participation. In this broader function of education indi- 
vidual and social instruction find their unity. 

4. Summary 

Individual instruction is complementary to social instruc- 
tion, not antagonistic to it. Its basis is in the individual 
differences of pupils, resulting from both environment and 
heredity. Environmental differences are to be met by provid- 
ing opportunity for each pupil to utilize his peculiar advan- 
tages and experience in his school study. Hereditary differ- 
ences of pupils are of three classes: of thought, of tempera- 
ment, and of action. Differences of thought type are to be 
met by giving each pupil, whether thing-thinker or idea- 
thinker, such special attention in the concrete-abstract- 
concrete movement of thought as to develop that phase of 
the thought wherein he is deficient, as well as to develop to 
the fullest usefulness the latent possibilities of his particular 
mental make-up. Temperamental differences call for such 



INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL ELEMENTS 339 

individual treatment as to develop quickness, strength, and 
breadth, linking feeling with thought and action. With the 
differences of action-type, the teacher must aim to establish a 
balance between impulse and reflection. In all efforts at in- 
dividual instruction, whether in classroom, study period, 
laboratory, or personal conference, the central aim must be 
to build upon student activity, by providing it opportunity 
and guidance as study of individual needs may dictate. 

Social instruction must secure social intelligence, social 
disposition, social efficiency, and social habit. Social intelli- 
gence involves a knowledge of subject matter of the curric- 
ulum in its social impKcations, a knowledge of society itself, 
and an understanding of one's relation to society. Social dis- 
position implies an attitude toward the claims of social obliga- 
tion, and is based upon appropriateness of educational ma- 
terial and a right personal relationship between teacher and 
pupil, and between pupils. Social efficiency, or the capacity 
to realize social ideals, demands opportunity and encourage- 
ment in their realization in the Ufe of the school. Social 
habit implies the motivation and the fixation by repetition 
toward social action. The socialization of instruction in 
classroom, laboratory, or study period is based upon the two 
principles of student co-operation and teacher leadership, 
permeated with an attitude of mutual helpfulness and con- 
sideration. 

The relation of individual and social instruction is one 
not of opposition nor of independence but of close co-ordina- 
tion. True individual instruction recognizes individual dif- 
ferences and capacities as the foundation of personal develop- 
ment, and social instruction is based upon a recognition of 
personalities as social assets, and a synthesis of them in social 
action. 

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 

I. To what degree should the teacher permit the pupil to special- 
ize along the lines for which he is most adapted^ rather than to attempt 



340 PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 

the development of his other possibiHties by studies which train in 
the latter? 

2. Is there danger that suggesting to pupils their peculiar aptitude 
toward certain lines of work will tend to induce an attitude of neglect 
for other capacities? 

3. Show how the supervision of study offers pecuHar opportunity 
for individualizing instruction. 

4. How does the Batavia System (described in Bagley^s " Class- 
room Management,'^ chap. XIV, and in various other publications) 
provide for individual instruction? Does it tend to unduly accentu- 
ate it? 

5. Which of the social aims of education are best attainable by 
the study of history? Civics? Manual training? 

6. Does social training come more from the content or from the 
method of study of the secondary school subjects? Why? 

7. Suggest ways in which the attitude of responsibility of the class 
to the individual, of the individual to the class, and of the class for 
the individual may each be developed. 

8. In so far as your experience goes, do teachers tend to emphasize 
the social or the individual aspects of education? How do you 
account for the emphasis which you think exists? 

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS 

Thorndike, "Principles of Teaching," chap. VI. 

Bolton, "Principles of Education," chap. XII. 

Parker, "Methods of Teaching in High Schools," chap. XV. 

Holmes, "School Organization and the Individual Child," chaps. V, 

VI, VII, VIII. 
Strayer, "Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap. XII. 
Howerth, "The Social Aim in Education," in the "Fifth Year Book 

of the National Herbart Society," p. 69. 
Betts, "Social Principles of Education," pp. 305-313. 
King, "Education for Social Efficiency," chap. XIV. 
King, "Social Aspects of Education," chap. XIV. 
Johnston, "Modern High School," chap. VIII. 



APPENDIX 



LESSON PLANS 

These plans are not given as models. Rather, they are intended 
merely to show how successful teachers have planned and taught les- 
sons, and thereby to be of suggestive value to others. The plans have 
necessarily been rewritten to adapt themselves to our purpose. !Many 
points of personal or local significance have been omitted. Much in 
the way of detail and of pedagogic explanation has been introduced. 
To some degree the terminology has been modified to conform to 
that we have adopted in our text. 

In these lessons the amount of material covered is, in most cases 
at least, to be taken as the maximum possible with favorable con- 
ditions, such as well-graded classes, thoroughly prepared assignments, 
and strict economy in use of lesson hour. 

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 

Lesson developed yesterday : Changes in river valleys, due to erosion. 

Assign?nent for to-day : Text-book treatment of same, supplemented 
by readings on various t3'pical river valleys. Probably a labora- 
tor>^ exercise on river valleys, possibly a field excursion to some 
typical valley has been introduced since last lesson, with atten- 
tion called to the phenomena to be studied in to-day's lesson. 

Lesson to be developed to-day : The disposition of stream erosion 
products. 

Aim of lesson: Knowledge of the formation resulting from deposition 
of sediment. Training the observation and interpretation of 
physical phenomena of environment. 

Procedure 

content method 

Recitation 
Fundamental features of a ''What do you understand the 
river valley. term 'river valley' to include?" 

Have students point out the extent 
of a few river valleys upon a relief 
341 



342 



APPENDIX 



Factors determining the 
course of a stream; lowest level, 
obstruction, character of soil. 

Surface erosion. 



Erosive factors 
with slight fall. 



in streams 



With abrupt fall. 



map. Recall, by questioning, the 
general form of river valleys; trans- 
versely, and longitudinally. 

"What factors determine the 
course of a stream?" 

"How does the surface water, in 
its movement toward streams, affect 
the surface of the ground?" 

"In case the stream's course offers 
very little fall, what effect does this 
have upon the rapidity of the 
stream?" "Upon the course of the 
stream?" "How would obstruc- 
tions affect the course?" etc. 

"In case the stream's course gives 
abrupt fall, what forms will be the 
result?" etc. 

Let all be illustrated, especially 
with remote and generally known in- 
stances, since yesterday's lesson em- 
ployed largely illustrations from the 
local environment. Have pupils 
make schematic drawings of the 
typical forms on the blackboard. 
"How does the character of the soil 
affect the course of the stream?" 
Lay emphasis on erosion. Have 
class work out summary of the above 
on board, copying same into note- 
books. 



Disposition of 
stream erosion. 



Development 

products of Raise the problem: "What do you 
suppose becomes of all this loose 
material carried away by the ero- 
sion?" Suggest solution by the 
further question: "How is water able 
to carry off such heavy material as 
broken rock, etc.?" "What then 
would cause it to give up and drop 
its load?" Recall the familiar in- 
stance in the formation of lagoons. 



APPENDIX 343 

General principle of deposi- Formulation of hypothesis: the 
tion of sediment. deposition of sediment wherever the 

stream's course is checked. 

ImpUcations of hypothesis: such 
deposits might be looked for, e. g., 
where rapids give place to level 
stretches, etc. Let students suggest 
such, tabulating them for the 

Verification: reference to personal 
observation, maps, reference books, 
etc., for a verification of each type. 

Application 

Forms of deposition: la- "What form would the deposit 

goons, natural dikes, alluvial take in each of the types tabulated ? " 

fans and cones, deltas, etc., es- By reference to pictures, relief maps, 

tuaries. Selection of examples etc., have class trace out the typical 

depending on environment, forms of deposition, and describe 

available equipment, etc. Gen- essential features of each, 
eral levelling action of erosion. 

Assignment 

Text-book treatment of above. Think out the economic signifi- 
cance of each of the phenomena studied. Individuals prepare reports 
on well-known instances, e. g., the Mississippi Delta, the site of Inter- 
laken, etc. Students bring to class any especially good pictures of 
erosion phenomena. These are to be used next day as partial material 
for an appreciation of the natural wonders of stream erosion. 

ALGEBRA 

Lesson developed yesterday : The concepts of factor and factoring; 

the separation of monomial factors from quantities of one or more 

terms; the factoring of such squares as a"^ -\- 2ab + b^ and x^ — 

2xy + y^. 
Assignment for to-day : An exercise containing problems calling for 

the factoring of such expressions as x^ — x, $xy^ — 6x, /^x^ — ^xy 

+ 'f^ etc. 
Lesson to he developed to-day: The factoring of polynomials which are 

perfect squares. 
Aim of lesson : A better knowledge of the meaning of factoring, 

training in thinking out the relationships between factoring and 

multiplication, a knowledge of the method of factoring indicated, 

and efficiency in its use. 



344 APPENDIX 





Procedure 


CONTENT 


METHOD 




Recitation 


Meaning of terms: 


factor, ''Is h a factor of c 


factoring. 


a + h a factor of 



a-\-hr' "Is 
a-^h +c?" 
"Give an illustration of a factor." 
"What is the difference between that 
case and the ones I gave?" "What 
do 3^ou mean by a f actor ? " "Then 
wherein were my examples incor- 
rect?" etc. 
Assigned and supplementary Report on difficulties. Discussion 

problems (for test and drill). of any experienced by several stu- 

dents. Part of class at board, part 
at seats, to work dictated problems. 
Assist students with difficulties still 
unexplained. Explanation by stu- 
dents of typical examples worked 
upon the board. Rapid oral drill 
on simpler problems. 
Review and propaedeutic. Oral quiz, ending with squaring 

Squaring of polynomials by in- oi a -\- h -Y c on board. 

spection. 

Development 

Discovery of method for fac- Raise the problem: "How shall 
toring squares of polynomials. we factor x^ -\- y^ -{- z^ -\- 2xy -|- 2xz 

-\- 2yz ? P" -\- m^ -\- n^ + 2lm -{- 2ln 
-t- 2mn} etc." Discovered to be 
similar to the square oi a -\- h -\- c. 

Discussion leading to 

Hypothesis: that they are the 
squares of x ■\- y + z, I -{■ m + n, 
etc., and 

Implications: that similar expres- 
sions can be factored in like manner. 

Verification: have class square 
X -\- y + z and similar trinomials, 
comparing results with expressions 
factored. Extend verification to 
such expressions as x^ + 4^^ -|- 4 -|- 
4.xy -^ 4x -^ 8y, to expressions in- 



APPENDIX 345 

volving negative signs, to squares of 
quadrinomials, etc. 
Formulation of general rule. "In all these expressions we have 

been factoring, what common char- 
acteristics do you see?" Let this 
take the form of a summary, e. g. : 

1. The squares give the terms of 
the factors. 

2. There are as many terms as 
squares. 

3. The cross products give the 
signs. 

4. The cross products must be 
double cross products. 

5. There must be a cross product 
for every possible combination of 
dissimilar terms. 

Thence develop the rule: "A poly- 
nomial consisting of several positive 
squares and a corresponding number 
of double cross products of the terms 
represented by the squares may be 
factored into . . .," etc. General 
drill on statement of rule. 

Application 

Similar problems of greater Have one student work at board 
difficulty. two or three examples of moderate 

difficulty, with class dictating the 
work and justifying each step. 
Have a typical example explained, 
making suggestions as to form of 
explanation. Follow with class at 
board working similar problems not 
taken from text-book. 

Assignment 

Seiies of typical problems in text-book, of greater complexity and 
difficulty than those discussed in class. Discuss with class any points 
which the students are not prepared to study out independently. 



346 APPENDIX 

UNITED STATES HISTORY 

Lesson developed yesterday: McKinley's election and administration 
up to the Spanish War. 

Assignment for to-day : Text-book account of same and summary of 
accounts of Nashville Exposition and discovery of gold in the 
Klondike, in notebooks; supplementary readings from the plat- 
forms of the various political parties, and selected editorials from 
newspapers at time of the election. Two students to report 
jointly on Cuban history, 1 866-1 895. 

Lesson to be developed to-day : The outbreak of the Spanish War. 

Aim of lesson : Knowledge of the facts and significance of the Cuban 
War, formation and training of habit of impartially seeking causes 
and motives in political activities, and appreciation of the moral 
issues involved in the declaration of that war, and of war in 
ge^e^al. 

Procedure 

CONTENT lETHOD 

Recitation 

Presidential nominations of "We have seen that the year 1896 
1896. found the country politically divided, 

with different sections urging differ- 
ent demands upon political leaders. 
Tell us about this sectional division, 
with the demands of each section." 
"How do you account for the various 
demands?" "How was the mem- 
bership of the parties affected by this 
sectionalism?" Question for the 
cleavage within parties, the fusion of 
factions of hitherto politically op- 
posed groups, the nominations of the 
various parties, and the strategic 
motives in these nominations. 

Campaign of 1896. Call for the events and features of 

the campaign; bring out comparison 
with campaigns of 1916 and 1920 as 
to methods, and the effect of meth- 
ods on final result. 

Proposed Anglo-American Topical recitations, covering fre- 

General Arbitration Treaty. quency of occasions for international 

disagreements, recognition of need 



APPENDIX 



347 



for better provision for arbitration, 
and attempted treaty and its general 
provisions; public sentiment in the 
United States and in England re- 
garding the treaty; defeat of mea- 
sure; effect of negotiations upon in- 
ternational friendship, in the United 
States, in England, and on the Con- 
tinent. General sentiment toward 
international peace. 

Implications for a League of Na- 
tions. 



Summary of important fea- 
tures of the administration thus 
far. 



Development 



Situation in Cuba. 



''Probably the most important 
event of McKinley's administration, 
perhaps of the last fifty years up to 
that time, was the war with Spain. 
We can understand its significance 
only by understanding how it came 
about." Raising an information 
problem, and developing with the 
class, in outline only, the form of the 
solution. The assignment, followed 
by next day's class exercise, is to 
complete the solution. 

Recall with class the early history 
of Cuba, including the basis for 
Spain's ownership of Cuba and the 
fact that Spain had retained Cuba, 
while disposing of or losing Florida 
and other colonies. Call for report 
on history of Cuba, 1866-1895. Re- 
late briefly the events of the Cuban 
revolt from 1895 to 1897. Study 
map of Cuba, leading pupils to ob- 
serve the location of centres of popu- 
lation, the main lines of communica- 
tion, and the consequent predomi- 
nant type of warfare (guerilla). In- 



34S 



APPENDIX 



Maine incident. 



Declaration of war. 



Summary. 



dicate the location and field of opera- 
tion of the Spanish and Cuban armies 
and lead class to see the significance 
of the Reconcentration Plan. 

Refer to the sinking of the Maine, 
and the subsequent investigation by 
the United States and by Spain. 
Compare with report of 191 1 Board 
of Investigation. Let the students 
contribute the data for above so far 
as possible. 

"What effect would you expect 
all these events to have upon popular 
feeling in the United States?" For 
the answer, direct attention to the 
economic strength of the United 
States; popular pride in the navy, 
increased by the naval review at 
Grant's funeral; popular desire for 
peace, manifested in Arbitration 
Treaty negotiations; Spanish op- 
pression and American attitude 
toward any country seeking to be- 
come a republic. 

Leave the verification of students' 
anticipatory judgment to the assign- 
ment. 

Tell the class about the note to 
Spain, Spain's response, and the 
declaration of war. 

Develop with class a summary of 
the Cuban situation and outbreak 
of Spanish War, as already consid- 
ered. Have summary entered in 
notebooks, as outline for to-mor- 
row's study. 



Application 



"What ought to be our attitude 
toward war?" Especially in case 
the opposing nation is too weak to 
offer serious opposition. Compare 
with the dispute with Mexico, in 



APPENDIX 349 

1845; in 1 9 16. Compare with the 
entry of the United States into the 
great World War. 

Lead class to see that the whole 
situation in 1896 was but a natural 
outcome of the general movement 
toward independence of the Ameri- 
can peoples, with the United States 
as the strongest, the leader. 

Discuss the dawning self-conscious- 
ness of the United States as a world- 
power under moral as well as political 
obHgations for world betterment. 

Assignment 

Text-book study of the events discussed in the lesson develop- 
ment; note particularly for study the friendly official policy of the 
administration in the United States toward Spain before the war was 
threatened, and the interchange of warship visits; the de Lome inci- 
dent; the preparation of Spain and of the United States for war, and 
the respective advantages of each due to geographical position. As- 
sign a review of the geography of the West Indies and the coast of 
Florida. Assign reading of Captain Sigsbee's personal account of the 
sinking of the Maine, and of contemporary editorials dealing with the 
situation. 

SPANISH 

Designed for beginning class: freshmen in four year high school. 
Period, forty-five minutes. Direct method; so far as practicable, 
directions and explanations given in Spanish. Whenever possi- 
ble, the meaning of the expression will be shown by the perform- 
ance — by both teacher and class — of appropriate actions; by giv- 
ing equivalent expressions which are already familiar to the class; 
in case of need, by translation or by clear explanation in EngHsh. 

Lesson developed yesterday : Use of estar in the present indicative. 

Assignment for to-day : Important uses of ser. 

Lesson to he developed to-day : The fundamental distinctions in mean- 
ing and use between ser and estar. 

Aim of lesson : Knowledge of the meaning and use of these verbs, 
"clinching" of the knowledge acquired, and power to use the 
verbs correctly in cases which should admit of no doubt. 



350 APPENDIX 

Procedure 
content method 

Recitation 

Review of previous assign- Estoy aqui. iDonde estoy yo? 
ment. Vds. estan alli. <i Donde estan Vds. ? 

i Estamos en la calle ? i Estamos en 
la iglesia ? l Estamos en la escuela ? 
El libro esta sobre la mesa. 

iEsta Vd. sentado? £ Estoy yo 
sentado? Nosotros estamos sen- 
tados. Yo estoy en pie. Vds. estan 
sentados. Ahora, yo estoy sentado. 
Ahora, Vds. estan en pie. 

i Donde esta la clase? La clase 
esta en la escuela. <i Donde esta la 
escuela? La escuela estd en la calle 
de Washington. <i Donde esta la 
iglesia? La iglesia esta cerca del 
Parque Central, t Donde esta nues- 
tra ciudad? La ciudad esta en los 
Estados Unidos. 

Yo estoy bueno. i Estan Vds. 
buenos? Estamos malos. Estamos 
enf ermos. i Esta Vd. ocupado ? Yo 
estoy ocupado. La puerta esta 
abierta. 

Have class write the proper verb 
form in the following: 

Nosotros en la clase. 

Vds. sentados. 

El comerciante en el des- 

pacho. 

Nuestra casa en la calle de 

Santiago. 

Las ventanas . cerradas. 

Development 
Uses of ser, Clase, yo soy una mujer, Juan es 

un muchacho, Maria es una mu- 
chacha. Yo soy la maestra, Vds. 
son los discfpulos. <!Marfa, es Vd. 
la maestra ? No, seiiora, yo soy una 
alumna. iSomos todos mejicanos 



APPENDIX 355 

HOME ECONOMICS 
Designed for first year class in junior high school 

Lesson developed yesterday : The cooking of fruit. 

Assignment for to-day : The cooking of some fruit at home, as an ap- 
plication of the method learned in school yesterday. 

Lesson to he developed to-day : The cooking of breakfast cereal. 

Aim of lesson : Knowledge of the properties of starch and the effect 
of heat upon it; knowledge of and efficiency in the processes of 
the cooking of breakfast cereal. 

Procedure 
content method 

Recitation 

The cooking of fruit, in the "What did we prepare yesterday 
laboratory and in the home. which we sometimes like for break- 

fast?" "How did we cook the 
fruit?" "Have you cooked any 
fruit at home since we learned how 
yesterday?" Questioning to see 
that the home cooking of the fruit 
was an application of principles and 
processes learned yesterday. 

Development 

The problem of the lesson. "What did you have for break- 

fast this morning?" (Fruits; 
cereals, such as cream of wheat, etc.) 
"We know now how to cook the 
fruit. To-day, let's learn how to 
cook the cream of wheat, in case our 
family want that for breakfast." 

Material conditions of Demonstration procedure, with 

problem. explanations. Determine contents 

of package of cream of wheat, in cups 
and by weight; cost of package. 

Process; demonstration. Teacher proceeds to the cooking, 

calling attention to the proportion of 
salt and of cereal to one cup of 
water, and the adding of the cereal 
to the water. "How can you tell 
how long to cook the cereal over the 
flame ? " (Till thick enough to eat.) 



356 



APPENDIX 



Process; 
pupils. 



performance by 



Properties of starch; solubil- 
ity and tests. 



"Why, do you suppose, it is better 
to use a double boiler?" 

1. Prevents burning. 

2. Saves time, since stirring is un- 
necessary. 

3. Can cook cereal a long time 
with less heat; should be ^ hour, 
and longer if possible. 

Pupils cook the cream of wheat as 
teacher has demonstrated; using 3 
tablespoons of cream of wheat in i 
cup of boiling water to which yi 
teaspoonful of salt is added. 

While cereal is cooking, take up 
the study of starch. 

1. Experiments. (Demonstration 
procedure.) 

a. Insolubility in cold water. 
Soak a little cream of wheat in cold 
water. Pour off water, and let 
stand until the starch settles out. 
"Did the starch dissolve in the cold 
water?" 

h. Solubility in hot water. Heat 
some starchy water from cream of 
wheat. "Is starch soluble in hot 
water?" "What difference do you 
observe in its appearance?" 

c. Detection with iodine. Put a 
few drops of dilute iodine in some 
starchy water. "What color does 
the starchy water become when the 
iodine is added?" 

d. Iodine tests with other foods. 
Have pupils make the test with 
bread, rice, egg, sugar, and butter 
(in test-tubes). 

2. Explain to class the cellulose 
wall of starch granule, and the need 
for great heat to break it; then the 
swelling of the starch grains, taking 
up much water, making the mixture 
thick. " Suppose that you wanted to 



APPENDIX 



357 



Sources of starch. 



Manufactured forms of cere- 
als; uncooked and cooked. 



Comparative study of various 
cereal foods. 



Serving; principles involved. 



find out whether a food has starch in 
it. How would you do it?" 

3. Have each pupil look at starch 
under a microscope, and try to draw 
a starch granule on the board. 

4. "Do you know of any vege- 
tables that have starch in them?" 
CaU for a list of all the grains the 
pupils know. " Which of these do we 
eat whole?" (Rice.) ''Which is 
cracked in big pieces?" (Cracked 
wheat, oats. Show some to class.) 
"Which are cracked very fine?" 
(Cream of wheat.) "Which are 
rolled out flat?" (Rolled oats.) 
"Which are powdered very fine?" 
(Corn-starch and flour.) 

"What cereals do we eat without 
cooking them?" "Are these un- 
cooked or ready cooked in manu- 
facture?" Show some of these. 
"Remembering what we know about 
starch, why would uncooked cereals 
be useless as foods?" 

5. Have a pupil measure and 
weigh a package of rolled oats. "If 
we allow (so much) for a serving, 
about how many servings do you 
think there would be in the package 
of rolled oats ? " Place on the board 
the weight, measure, number of 
servings, and cost of package of 
roUed oats, and of cream of wheat. 
Ask pupils to determine what each 
costs for one serving. Follow the 
same method of study for corn 
flakes and cream of wheat. 

6. Serving cereals. Teacher show 
the cereal she has cooked in dem- 
onstration to illustrate thickness 
(thick enough to hold in mouth a few 
moments). If possible, show several 
different kinds of cereal dishes and 



358 



APPENDIX 



Serving; practical exercise. 



spoons. "Why do we want to have 
cereal very hot when we serve it?" 
(Cools quickly when cold milk or 
cream is added.) "What different 
things have you seen people eat on 
cereal?" Teacher completes the 
list, which should include: cream, 
top milk or whole milk, sugar (pow- 
dered, brown, or granulated), fruits 
which may be served in or with 
cereal. Show the value of sugar with 
cereal. Unusual accompaniments: 
butter instead of cream, maple or 
other syrup. Dry prepared cereal 
(e. g., corn flakes) on hot cooked 
cereal. 

Have class serve the cereal they 
have cooked. Teacher see that this 
is properly done (including etiquette 
if necessary) . 

Have laboratory put in order. 
(Directions in previous lessons should 
suffice.) 

A p plication- Expression 
Laboratory application. Have each pupil prepare and serve 

a dish of cream of wheat. 

Ask each girl to prepare a cereal at 
home and report about it to-morrow. 
Have class summarize the prin- 
ciples introduced, under the follow- 
ing heads: 

1. Detection of starch. 

2. Effect of boihng water on it. 

3. Sources of starch. 

4. Kinds of cereals. 

5. Steps in cooking cream of 
wheat. 

6. Serving a cereal. 

7. Use of double boiler. Advan- 
tages. Substitutes. 

Ask pupils to tell some one at 
home about each point before next 
lesson. 



Home 
ment). 
Summary. 



application (assign- 



APPENDIX 359 

Teacher* s Preparation for the Lesson 

A. Materials. 

1. List of supplies for lesson. 

2. List of dishes and utensils necessary, 

3. List of materials for teacher's demonstration and experiments. 

4. Board work necessary. 

5. Microscope and slide for starch prepared. 

6. Supplies for class work ordered. 

B. Time schedule, carefully worked out. 

1. Recitation procedure. 

2. Teacher's demonstration. 

3. Pupil's cooking of cereal and placing in double boiler. 

4. Study of starch and cereals. 

5. Serving cereals. 

6. Putting laboratory in order. 

7. Summary. 



The foregoing lesson plans are all 01 the development type; not 
because all lessons should be of that type, but because development 
lessons are as a class most difficult to plan, and hence call especially 
for illustration. It is felt that lessons of the recitation type demand 
no further illustration than is given in the recitation and expression- 
apphcation procedure of the lesson plans given above. 



INDEX 



Absoluteness, of measurement, 271 ; 

of standard, 264. 
Abstract as related to concrete, 109, 

131- 

Acquired efficiency, transfer of, 21- 
25; basal principle in transfer- 
rence, 21; in information prob- 
lems, 138; in thought problems, 
167; pedagogical applications of 
the principle, 24. 

Acquisition of information, 32, 132, 
228. 

Act of thought, composition of, 139. 

Action type, differences in, 313. 

Activity, as basis for learning, 10, 
100, 130; distribution of, 50; im- 
portance in classroom, 48; in 
questioning, 64. 

Adams, 37, 50. 

Adequacy, of answer, 68; of expres- 
sion, 70, 197. 

Adolescence, 6. 

Aims in Instruction (Chapter III), 
28-42; educational aims, 28; 
aims of instruction, 29; essen- 
tials of instruction, 30; factors 
of method, 31; lesson aim, 35; 
modes of instruction, 39; lesson 
types, 39 ; formal steps, 40 ; sum- 
mary, 41 ; aim of appreciation in- 
struction, 174; of laboratory in- 
struction, 209. 

Algebra, lesson plan, 343; tests for, 
277. 

Analogy, 107. 

Analysis, 19, 57, 139; in apprecia- 
tion, 182. 

Analytic question, 57. 

Answer, the, in questioning, 68. 

Anticipatory judgment, 141. 



Appeal, of appreciation situation, 
184; of problematic situation, 

147. 

Appendix, 341. 

Apperception in teaching, 94, 106. 

Application, in study, 195, 210, 
235; application latx)ratory, 215; 
meaning of, 188; of measure- 
ment, 267; through quiz, 81; re- 
lation to home study, 194; rela- 
tion to laboratory, 208; relation 
to verification, 157. 

Appreciation, testing for, 268. 

Appreciation factor, 35. 

Appreciation laboratory, 214. 

Appreciation Mode (Chapter IX), 
173-187; character and function, 
173; meaning of sentiment, 173; 
aim of appreciation instruction, 
174; types and forms of appre- 
ciation, 176; appreciation in the 
high school curriculum, 176; pro- 
cedure in appreciation mode, 177; 
appreciation by teacher, 178; 
realness of situation, 178; famili- 
arity with medium of expression, 
180; understanding of thought, 
182; appeal of situation, 184; 
classroom atmosphere, 185; sum- 
rnary, 186. 

Appreciation study, 233. 

Appropriateness of instruction, 76. 

Arithmetic, test for, 276. 

Artisan teacher, 4. 

Artist teacher, 4. 

Assignment, relation to develop- 
ment, 125; relation to class work, 
201; time of, 202; definiteness of , 
203; motivation of , 204 ; amount 



361 



362 



INDEX 



of, 204; In laboratory, 216; in 
lesson plan, 250. 

Assistance by teacher and individual 
instruction, 319. 

Association, associative learning, 
17; after dissociation, 18; in 
memory, 89 ; in information prob- 
lem, 138; in thought problem, 
139; in study, 231. 

Atmosphere of classroom, 47, 185. 

Attention, importance of, 14; secur- 
ing of, 15; active and secondary 
passive, 16; in dissociation, 20; 
in study, 241. 

Attitude of study, 225. 

Bagley, 137. 
Baker, 183. 
Ballou, 276. 
Bigelow, 217. 
Blackboard, 49, 201, 255. 
"Born" teachers, 4. 
Bourne, 176, 209. 
Breslich, 195, 242. 
Brevity of question, 61. 

Carpenter, Baker, and Scott, 183. 

Charters, 56. 

Chubb, 137. 

Clapp, 284. 

Class conference, 44. 

Class Exercise (Chapter IV), 43-54; 
meaning, 43; personality in class 
exercise, 45; atmosphere of class 
exercise, 47, 185; classroom ac- 
tivity, 48; summary, 53; social 
aspect of, 327. 

Classification, 144. 

Colvin, 180. 

Comparison of achievements, 262, 
296. 

Comparison-contrast, 226; ques- 
tion, 58. 

Composition of an act of thought, 

139- 
Concept, 24. 
Concrete to abstract, 109, 131, 156, 

192. 



Conditions for study, 236. 
Conditions of drill, 90, 231. 
Conference, 44, 83, 244, 318. 
Consciousness in method, 2. 
Content of lesson, 248. 
Contrast, 226; contrast question, 

58. 
Conversational method, 104. 
Co-operation of students, 36, 329. 
Correction through quiz, 80. 
Courtis, 276, 277, 300. 
Cramming, 93. 

Deduction, no, 131, 141, 144, 164; 
deductive method, no, 141, 164; 
deductive problem, 131, 142, 143, 
164. 

Definiteness, of assignment, 203; 
of hypothesis, 153; of problem, 
143; of standard, 264. 

De Garmo, 13, 49, 56, 122, 130, 144, 
148, 212. 

Description, in English composi- 
tion, 276; in laboratory, 213. 

Development. See Lesson devel- 
opment. 

Development question, 57. 

Dewey, i, 33, 41, 44, 50, no, 130, 

135, 139. 

Diagnostic grading, 302. 

Diflferences, individual, 1 1 ; en- 
vironmental, 310; hereditary, 
311; intellectual, 311; of tem- 
perament, 313; of action, 313. 

Differentiation, 338. 

Directing of interest, 13. 

Discovery, 121, 137. 

Discussion in quiz, 81. 

Disjunction, 18. 

Dissociation, 18, 138. 

Distribution, of activity, 50; of 
grades, 288, 301 ; of questions, 64. 

Drill, 34; recitation as drill, 83; 
function of, 83; applicability of, 
83, 231; upon processes, 85; 
upon facts, 87; conditions of, 90; 
application of, 92; in study, 230, 
231- 



INDEX 



3^3 



Effect, law of, 85. 

Efficiency, as aim in instruction, 
293. 325; in teaching, 2, 259; 
testing for, 269; question as in- 
dex of efficiency, 67. 

Emotion, 173. 

Empathy, 174. 

Enforcement of lesson preparation, 

79. 

English composition, test for, 273. 

English lesson plan, 352. 

Environmental differences, 310. 

Equipment of child, 10. 

Evaluation of methods of instruc- 
tion, 297. 

Examination, 82, 259. 

Excursion, 213. 

Exercise, law of, 86. 

Exercises, 193. 

Experience as source of information, 
134,^ 228. 

Experimental laboratory, 211. 

Explanation, 160. 

Expression-Application Mode 
(Chapter X), 188-206; character 
and function, 188; forms of expres- 
sion and application, 190; home 
study as application, 194; essen- 
tials of expression and applica- 
tion, 196; lesson assignment, 201 ; 
summary, 205; expression in 
study, 236; expression in testing, 
295; familiarity with medium of 
expression, 180. 

Factors of method, 31. 
Facts, drill upon, 87, 231. 
Familiarity, of illustration, 113; of 

medium of expression, 1 80. 
Fatigue, in drill, 91; in study, 241. 
Feeling, 29, 30, 33, loi, 173, 189, 

313. 

Field excursion, 213. 

Finding-out problem, 131, 228. 

Fixation in drill, 86. 

Formal discipline, 21. See Trans- 
fer of acquired efficiency. 

Formal steps, 40. 



Forms of application, 192. 

Forms of expression, 191. 

Formulation of problem, 143. 

French, test for, 283. 

Frequency, distribution of, 288. 

Function of teacher, in laboratory, 
217; in thought problem, 162. 

Fundamental Principles of Learn- 
ing (Chapter II), 10-27; the 
child's equipment, 10; interest 
and teaching, 1 1 ; attention and 
teaching, 14; associative learn- 
ing, 17; transfer of acquired 
efficiency, 21; summary, 25. 

Generalization, 24, 81. 
Genuineness of expression, 197. 
Geometry, tests for, 285. 
German, tests for, 283, 
Grading of pupils' work, 287, 301. 

Habit, social, 29, 326. 
Habit-forming, 85, 230. 
Handwriting, test for, 272. 
Harvard-Newton test, 276. 
Hereditary differences, 11, 311. 
Heuristic method, 121. 
Hillegas, 273, 275. 
History lesson plan, 346. 
Home economics lesson plan, 355. 
Home study, as application, 193, 

199; justification of, 195, 222; 

relation to class exercise, 195; 

relation to laboratory, 207. 
Hotz, 279. 
Hypothesis, 152, 162, 232. 

Illustration, 1 1 1 ; relation to anal- 
ogy, 116; requirements of, 113. 

Imagery, 179. 

Immediacy of expression and ap- 
plication, 197. 

Impression in memory, 88. 

Inclusiveness of standard, 265. 

Individual and Social Elements in 
Secondary Instruction (Chapter 
XV), 309-340; individual instruc- 
tion, 309; social instruction, 319; 



3^4 



INDEX 



relation between individual and 
social instruction, 336; summary, 

338. 

Individual differences, 1 1, 45, 309. 

Individual instruction, meaning, 
309 ; environmental differences, 
310; hereditary differences, 311; 
teacher's attitude toward indi- 
vidual differences, 315; specific 
forms of individualizing instruc- 
tion, 316. 

Individual needs of pupils, 262, 299, 

309- 
Inducing of interest, 12. 
Induction, no, 131, 141, 144, 164; 

inductive method, 164; inductive 

problem, 131. 
Inference, 214. 
Information problem, 131. 
Information-getting in study, 228. 
Initiation in drill, 85. 
Instincts, 10. 
Instruction, adequacy of, 75; aims 

of, 29; essentials of, 30. 
Integration, 338. 
Intellectual differences, 311. 
Intelligence of drill, 91. 
Interest, directing of, 13; inducing 

of, 12; interest and teaching, 11. 
Investigation by student, 137. 

James, 19, 85, 87. 

Johnston, 5. 

Journal of Educational Psychology, 

297. 
Judd, 22, 181, 242. 
Judgment in appreciation, 173, 234. 
Judgment question, 58. 

Kansas silent reading test, 286. 
Kelly, 286. 

Knowledge, 29; social, 321; test- 
ing for, 267. 
Known to unknown, 106. 

Laboratory in lesson plan, 252. 
Laboratory instruction, 317; as ap- 
plication, 192, 215. 



Laboratory Mode (Chapter XI), 
207-221 ; relation to home study, 
207; to development, 207; to 
application, 208; aims, 209; ex- 
perimental, 211; observational, 
212; appreciation, 214; applica- 
tion, 215; problem assignment, 
216; function of teacher, 217; 
results, 219; summary, 220; 
socialization of laboratory, 334. 

Ladies' Home Journal, 194. 

Latin, test for, 283. 

Law of effect, 85. 

Law of exercise, 86. 

Leadership of teacher, 329. 

Learning, 88, 102. 

Lecture method, 122. 

Lesson aim, character of aim, 36; 
student's aim, 36; teacher's aim, 
35; in lesson plan, 248 ; in study, 
226. 

Lesson assignment, 201, 240, 250. 

Lesson content, 248. 

Lesson Development (Chapter VII), 
100-128; learning and feeling, 
100; meeting of situations, 100; 
development in teaching, 102; 
known to unknown, 106; analo- 
gy. 107; simple to complex, 109; 
concrete to abstract, 109; illus- 
tration, III; student contribu- 
tion in development, 116; Socratic 
method, 118; heuristic method, 
121; lecture method, 122; place 
of development in class exercise, 
123; relation to recitation, 123; 
relation to assignment, 125; re- 
lation to laboratory, 209; in les- 
son plan, 248; summary, 126. 

Lesson Organization (Chapter 
XIII), 247-258; significance of 
organization, 247; the lesson 
plan, 248; summaries in the les- 
son, 254; review and the review 
lesson, 255; summary, 257. 

Lesson outline in study, 227. 

Lesson plan, 248. See Lesson or- 
ganization. 



INDEX 



365 



Lesson plans, illustrative, 341. 

Lesson preparation, 76. 

Lesson types, 39. 

Library, 213, 219. 

Lloyd and Bigelow, 164, 176, 211. 

MacVannel, 4. 

Mahy, 182. 

Mathematical report cards, 80. 

Matured answer, 68. 

Measurableness, 265. 

Measurement, 259; applications of, 
267 ; essentials in, 263 ; kinds of, 
271; teacher's use of, 292. 

Medium of expression in apprecia- 
tion, 180. 

Meeting of situations, 100. 

Memory, 83, 87; memory-forming 
(memorizing), 87, 229; memory 
question, 56. 

Mental conditions for study, 239. 

Method, I, 6. 

Minnich, 244. 

Modes of instruction, 39. 

Monroe, 277. 

Mood, 47, 185. 

Moore, 151. 

Motivation, in assignment, 204; in 
drill, 230; in problem, 146; in 
study, 240. 

Munch, 5, 53. 

Note-taking, 136. 

Objectivity of standard, 264. 
Observation, 134, 137, 168, 210, 

213, 228. 
Observational laboratory, 213. 
Oral quiz, 80. 

Organization, significance of, 247. 
Organization and unity in lesson 

plan, 247, 253. 
Organization in study, 226. 
Orientation in study, 226. 
O'Shea, 325. 

Outline of lesson in study, 227. 
Over-instruction, 117. 



Parker, 91, 104, 242, 332. 

Percentage grading, 289. 

Permanency, as an aim in teaching, 
31, 83; testing for, 269. 

Personality, 45. 

Pettiness in appreciation instruc- 
tion, 185. 

Physical conditions for study, 237. 

Physical geography lesson plan, 

341. 

Physics, test for, 282. 

Pillsbury, 87. 

Pivotal question, 250. 

Plan of lesson, 248. See Lesson or- 
ganization. 

Plato, 120. 

Practicability of standard, 265. 

Preparation of lesson, 75, 76. 

Preparedness of teacher, 52. 

Principles of method, 5. 

Problem, 129. 

Problem assignment in laboratory, 
216. 

Problematic Mode (Chapter VIII), 
129-172; character and function 
of problem, 129; sources of in- 
formation, 132; composition of 
an act of thought, 139; procedure 
in thought type of problematic 
mode, 142; application of prob- 
lematic mode, 163; summary, 
170. 

Problems in study, 228. 

Processes, drill upon, 85, 230. 

Project method, 149. 

Proof, 161. 

Propedeutic function of recitation, 
94, 251. 

Quest (Hall-Quest), 244. 

Question (Chapter V), 55-73; func- 
tion, 55; kinds, 56; essentials of 
good questioning, 59; manner of 
questioning, 63 ; number of ques- 
tions, 67; the answer, 68; pupil's 
question, 71; summary, 72; in 
lesson plan, 249. 

Quiz, 80. 



366 



INDEX 



Reading, as source of Information, 
133; test for, 286. 

Realness, of appreciation situation, 
178; of problem, 146. 

Reasoning, 19. 

Reasoning implications of hypothe- 
sis, 154, 232. 

Reavis, 238. 

Recall, 88. 

Recitation in lesson plan, 251. 

Recitation Mode (Chapter VI), 74- 
99; meaning of recitation, 43, 74; 
recitation as testing, 75; recita- 
tion as drill, 83; propaedeutic 
function of recitation (appercep- 
tion), 94, 251; summary, 98. 

Recognition, 88, 89. 

Recognition of problem, 143. 

Reflection, 32. 

Rein, 36, 41, 95. 

Relative measurements, 271. 

Repetition in drill, 86, 90, 

Response to situation, loi, 129, 173. 

Results, use made of, in laboratory, 
219. 

Retention, 87. 

Review, 94, 255. 

Review lesson, 256. 

Rogers test, 281, 286. 

Rugg and Clark, 281. 

Sackett, 286. 

School museum, 213. 

School work, forms of, 43. 

Scientific method, 168, 

Securing and controlling associa- 
tions, 17, 231. 

Securing of attention, 15. 

Self-control, 207, 222. 

Self-direction, 222. 

Self-teaching, 223. 

Sensitivity to problems, 169. 

Sentiment, 30, 173. 

Simple association, 17, 85. 

Simple to complex, 109, 199. 

Situation and response (meeting of 
situation), 100, 129, 173. 



Skew In graph of grade distribution, 
290, 304. 

Skill, 2, 210. 

Smith and Hall, 160, 176. 

Sneddon, 150. 

Social aims (social Intelligence, dis- 
position, efficiency, habit), 29. 
See also under Social instruction. 

Social clearing-house, 44. 

Social instruction, 319; social Intel- 
ligence, 321; social disposition, 
323; social efficiency, 325; social 
habit, 326; school agencies for 
social instruction, 327; forms of 
socialization of Instruction, 330. 

Socialized recitation, 332. 

Socratic method, 118. 

Soundness of hypothesis, 153, 155, 
232. 

Source method In history, 209. 

Sources, use of, in laboratory, 218. 

Sources of information, 132, 228. 

Spanish lesson plan, 349. 

Spirit of work, 48. 

Standards and Measurements in In- 
struction (Chapter XIV), 259- 
308; need and value, 259; essen- 
tials in measurement, 263; mea- 
surableness, 265; applications of 
measurement, 267 ; typical stand- 
ards and forms of measurement, 
271; practical value of standard- 
ization and measurement, 292; 
summary, 306. 

Starch, 22, 78, 282, 283, 304. 

Statement of verification, 159. 

Steps in thinking, 139. 

Stevens, 56, 67. 

Stockard and Bell, 285. 

Strayer, 71. 

Stromquist, 278. 

Student activity, 10, 48, 64, 67. 

Student contribution of illustration, 
116. 

Student responsibility, 329. 

Student's aim in lesson, 36. 

Study, teaching to, 223; self-teach- 
ing, 223; study attitude, 225; 



INDEX 



367 



orientation and organization, 226; 
information-getting, 228; memo- 
rizing, 229; thinking-out of prob- 
lem, 232; appreciation, 233; 
application in study, 235; expres- 
sion, 236; conditions for study, 
236. 

Study as Self-Teaching (Chapter 
XII), 222-246; student self-con- 
trol and self-direction, 222; justi- 
fication of home study, 222; 
teaching to study, 223; super- 
vised study, 241 ; summary, 244. 

Study attitude, 225. 

Study hour, 318; socialization of, 

335. 
Study programme, 238. 
Summaries in the lesson, 254. 
Supervised study, 241, 
Synthesis, 19, 139. 

Teacher's aim in lesson, 35. 
Teacher's appreciation, 178. 
Teacher's function in hypothesis, 

154. 

Teacher's function in thought prob- 
lem, 162. 

Teaching to study, 223. 

Telling, 132, 135. 

Temperament, differences in, 313. 

Tempo, 53, 185. 

Tentative solution of problem, 151. 

Testing, 34, 75, 259; ultimate func- 
tion of, 299. 

Text-books, 133, 136. 

Thinking, steps in, 139. 

Thorndike, 17, 22, 85, 94, 264, 269, 
273, 275, 311, 316. 

Thought problem, 131, 142; in 
study, 232; procedure in, 142. 

Thought-power, 30; testing for, 268. 



Thought-provoking question, 60; 

thought-provoking in laboratory, 

217. 
Thought-type, differences in, 312. 
Time, use of, in study, 238. 
Time of assignment, 202. 
Titchener, 87, 173. 
Topical recitation, 69. 
Training, transfer of. See Transfer 

of acquired efficiency. 
Traits, native and acquired, 10. 
Transfer of acquired efficiency, 21, 

138, 167; pedagogical applica- 
tion of, 24. 
Translation, 193. 
Twiss, 44. 
Types of appreciation, 176; of 

hypothesis, 152; of lesson, 39; 

of problem, 131. 

Understanding of thought in ap- 
preciation mode, 182. 
United States History lesson plan, 

346. ^ 
Unity in lesson plan, 253. 
Universality of application, 200. 

Validity of verification, 157. 

Variety in procedure, 50. 

Verification, of hypothesis, 156, 163; 
in laboratory, 210; relation to ap- 
plication, 157; relation to proof, 
161. 

Waste in laboratory, prevention of, 

218. 
Weglein, 304. 
Welton, 217. 

Will type, diflterences in, 313. 
Woodhull, 150, 151. 

Young, 80, 165, 176. 










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